Ashoka University faculty seeks immediate release of arrested teacher
In all of his writing, Prof. Mahmudabad has emphasized the importance of justice, pluralism, and solidarity, says Faculty Association statement
Even as Ashoka University maintains its distance from Associate Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad after he was arrested by Haryana Police for some social media posts on Operation Sindoor, the university’s Faculty Association have come out in his support.
They said on Sunday (May 18) that his arrest was on “groundless and untenable charges” and demanded his “immediate and unconditional release”.
“The Faculty Association of Ashoka University strongly condemns the arrest of Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science, on 18 May 2025, on groundless and untenable charges. 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,” it said in a statement on Sunday.
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“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, who brings all his energy and learning to promoting communal harmony and the greater good,” it added.
Emphasizes ‘importance of justice, pluralism, and solidarity’
The Association said Mahmudabad is “well-versed in diverse literary and linguistic traditions” and a “widely acclaimed expert and scholar of history and political science in South Asia and beyond”.
“In all of his writing, both for academic and wider public fora, he has emphasized the importance of justice, pluralism, and solidarity, and has always advocated a profound respect for Constitutional values and morality,” it said.
“Professor 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. All members of the Ashoka community can attest to his personal kindness, his concern for others, and his tireless commitment to sharing his knowledge and resources. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Professor Mahmudabad and the dropping of all charges against him,” it added.