NEW DELHI: Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor with the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was arrested on Sunday in a case related to his comments on the military briefings during the India-Pakistan flare-up.

Reports said the grandson of Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan, the late Raja of Mahmudabad of the national movement, was arrested under sections of the criminal code pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, incitement of armed rebellion or subversive activities, and insults of religious beliefs.

A police official told The Indian Express newspaper that Mahmudabad, 42, was arrested south of the university, located in Sonepat, Haryana. A report by the online Scroll.in quoted Mahmudabad’s lawyer as saying the case was filed on Saturday based on a complaint by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the ruling BJP’s youth wing. The arrest was made days after the Haryana State Commission for Women summoned Mahmudabad for his comments on briefings on Indian strikes in Pakistan. Col Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh gave briefings on Operation Sindoor.

In a Facebook post on May 8, Mahmudabad had said: “I am very happy to see so many rightwing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia Qureishi but perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens.

Faculty condemns ‘calculated harassment’ of professor

“The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is important but optics must translate to reality on the ground, otherwise it’s just hypocrisy,” he said. The post referred to Qureishi, a Muslim officer in the army, and attacks against Muslims.

According to media reports, the Haryana Women’s Commi­ssion said the professor’s statement “disparaged women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and promoted communal disharmony” and summoned him.

Mahmudabad defended his comments and said on X that they had been misunderstood: “If anything, my entire comments were about safeguarding the lives of both citizens and soldiers. Furthermore, there is nothing remotely misogynistic about my comments that could be construed as anti-women.”

In February 2024, Amnesty International urged the government to stop “unjust targeted demolition of Muslim properties”.

The Faculty Association of Ashoka University condemned Mahmudabad’s arrest, “on ground­less and untenable charges”.

In a statement, it said: “We condemn the calculated harassment to which Professor Mahmudabad has been subjected: after being arrested early in the morning from his home in New Delhi, he was taken to Sonipat, not allowed access to necessary medication, and driven around for hours without any communication about his whereabouts.”

The Faculty Association stands in full support of “our colleague: an invaluable member of the university community, a beloved and respected teacher and friend to his students, and a deeply responsible citizen”.

It further said that Prof Mahmudabad’s students and colleagues have learnt from him what it truly means to be a good citizen-scholar: rational, critical, yet deeply respectful and generous in their engagement with the world around them.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2025