NEW DELHI: United States-based Indian scholar Badar Khan Suri, facing detention after the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged supporters of Hamas, has received strong support from family and friends in India, who insist he has done nothing wrong and should not be deported.
The scholar’s octogenarian father, a retired food officer from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, defended Suri and said there was no justification for his detention. He asserted that his son was being unfairly targeted because of his wife’s Palestinian heritage but had no links with any political activity.
“My son and I visited Gaza only once — to ask for Mapheze’s hand in marriage. After that, Badar has never returned to Palestine,” he told TOI. “He is innocent and hasn’t done anything wrong. There’s no reason for him to be deported. He is educated, and there will be work for him here as well.” Stating that the accusations against his son were politically motivated, the senior Suri said, “Being a Palestinian is not a crime. There are many other Palestinians in America. Does that mean all of them are doing something wrong?” he asked. “This is a difficult time for us, but we will face whatever comes our way.”
Also read: Who is Mapheze Saleh? Meet the wife of Badar Khan Suri, the Indian-origin academic in the US facing deportation for alleged Hamas ties
Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, teaches and conducts research in the US, where he lives with his wife, Mapheze Saleh, an American citizen of Palestinian descent, and their three children. Suri’s detention comes at a time when the US govt has intensified actions against individuals and organisations perceived to be supporting the Hamas grouping of Palestine. The US department of justice recently formed the Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7) to prosecute Hamas leaders and investigate those suspected of providing material support to the group.
Universities across the US have also witnessed increasing scrutiny of pro-Palestinian activism, with disciplinary actions, suspensions and even arrests of students involved in protests. Over 2,000 individuals have reportedly been detained in recent weeks during demonstrations on college campuses.
The scholar’s detention has sparked concerns among those who know him, including a close friend, who was part of the same international convoy in Gaza in 2011 to show solidarity with Palestine in which Suri met Saleh. The friend, who did not wish to be named, dismissed any allegations of political involvement. “Badar and I were classmates at Jamia Millia Islamia, where we studied for an MA at the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution. When we visited Gaza as an international convoy in 2011, he met Mapheze Saleh and later fell in love and married her,” he revealed.
Suri has three young children, all enrolled in schools in the US. “Badar is a family man who constantly juggles work and family responsibilities. His days are spent caring for his family, studying and teaching, leaving him no time for political activity,” the friend insisted.
Also read: ‘Badar Luck’: Indian scholar faces deportation over Hamas links
Recalling Saleh’s background, the friend said, “I remember meeting her in Gaza where she worked as a translator. In 2013, she pursued her studies at Jamia in the same centre as Badar. Her father was once an advisor to Hamas but resigned long ago. He is an elderly man who has not been politically active for 10–12 years now. I don’t understand the basis for Badar’s detention. If someone held a position a decade ago, how can that justify arresting another person now?”
The friend continued, “I believe this is a part of a propaganda-driven crackdown on Palestinians under the current regime. As a scholar analysing conflict resolution, he is naturally critical of certain issues, but that does not make him complicit in political activity or a supporter of any group.” He pointed out that Suri had a little time left over after work, research and his children.
Suri’s PhD supervisor Sujit Dutta described him as an outstanding student with no history of political involvement. “Badar was a studious person and sincere student. He was not politically involved or participated in any political affairs,” Dutta claimed. “He studied a very interesting research topic under me on post-conflict societies and their struggle to build democratic societies.”
Saleh is a first-year student at Georgetown University’s Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and information at the Islamic University of Gaza and a master’s degree in conflict analysis and peace building from the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia.
Saleh earlier worked as a researcher at the Qatar embassy in New Delhi and has also previously served as executive director at the Indo-Pal Foundation, an organisation advocating Palestinian rights. She was a contributing writer for the Middle East Monitor, Al Jazeera and various Palestinian media outlets. In addition, she has worked with the ministry of foreign affairs in Gaza.
