Politicians, lawyers, academics speak out against Ashoka University teacher’s arrest

Political leaders, lawyers, academics and civil society activists have spoken out against the arrest of Ashoka University Associate Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad by the Haryana Police for his Facebook posts on Operation Sindoor.

Mahmudabad was picked up from his residence in Delhi on Sunday (May 18) morning and taken to Haryana after an FIR was filed on a complaint by a BJP Yuva Morcha leader at Sonepat’s Rai Police Station.

“Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been arrested from Delhi,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Rai, Ajeet Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Charges against professor

In a post on X, The Edict, the student newspaper of Ashoka University, said, “Prof. Khan’s lawyer Adv. Kapil Balyan, has confirmed to the Edict that the arrest was made under sections 152, 196(1), 197(1) & 299 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS); and, he will be produced in front of the Duty Magistrate at District Court, Sonepat, soon.”

Section 152 of the BNS deals with acts that “endanger India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity”. Section 196(1) pertains to promoting enmity between groups, Section 197(1) deals with “imputations and assertions that are prejudicial to national integration” and Section 299 involves “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings”.

The Edict added that teachers, students and activists had gathered at the Rai Police Station to protest Mahmudabad’s arrest.

Also read: Ashoka University row: Professors threaten exodus if Sabyasachi Das not reinstated

University distances itself

The university, meanwhile, has distanced itself from Mahmudabad.

“We have been made aware that Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been taken into police custody earlier today. We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case. The University will continue to cooperate with the police and local authorities in the investigation, fully,” Ashoka University said in a statement.

The arrest comes days after the Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) sent a notice to Mahmudabad, who is the head of the political science department, over his remarks. At that time too, there had been an outpouring of support for Mahmudabad, when over 1,200 people signed a statement asking the HSCW to retract its summons.

“We salute the country’s daughters — Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh. But the kind of words the professor who teaches political science has used for them... I expected that he would at least present himself before the commission today and express regret,” HSCW chairperson Renu Bhatia had said.

They had raised concerns about the “disparagement of women in uniform, including Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, and undermining their role as professional officers in the Indian Armed Forces”.

Letter by civil society

The letter, signed by 1,200 academics, politicians, and activists, lashed out at the HSCW for its overreach.

“It is preposterous that we have come to such a pass in India that even praising the army, albeit while criticizing those who clamour for war, can now invite such targeted harassment and attempted censorship… Indeed, there is a much stronger case for summoning those who have made rape threats against Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s daughter or against the Madhya Pradesh Minister who called Colonel Sofia Qureshi a sister of the Pakistanis,” the letter said.

“However, through its actions, the commission has shown how constitutionally protected freedom of speech continues to be under threat from forces that seek to spread hatred and destabilize India,” it added.

At that time, too, Ashoka University had issued a statement distancing itself, saying that the “comments made by a faculty member on his personal social media pages do not represent the opinion of the university”.

Also read: Ashoka University issues statement after videos of students 'raising' casteist slogans go viral

What professor wrote

The original posts by Mahmudabad were posted on May 8 and May 11. In it, there is a strong anti-war sentiment.

On May 8, he wrote, “I am very happy to see so many right-wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia Qureishi (sic), 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. 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.”

On May 11, he quoted both the Bhagwad Gita and the Quran to make his case against war. He also said, “People will tell you that those who call for peace are cowards. No, I tell you. Those who sit at home and call for war are cowards because it is not their sons and daughters who have to go to battle.”

After getting the notice, Mahmudabad issued a statement in which he said the HSCW “while overreaching its jurisdiction, has misread and misunderstood my posts to such an extent that they have inverted their meaning”.

Political voices of support

On Sunday, various political leaders spoke out against his arrest, drawing a contrast to BJP minister Vijay Shah who had, without naming Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, made remarks suggesting she was a sister to terrorists. No action has been taken against him.

“A BJP leader defames Col. Sofia Qureshi on the basis of her religious identity and his party does not even bother to rebuke him. Instead, it defends her in the Supreme Court through its lawyers. On the other hand, academic Ali Khan Mahmudabad is arrested simply because he cited Col. Qureshi and praised India for including Muslims in its national response to an attack on the security of its citizens—and thereby its sovereignty. What is his ‘crime’? That he went a step further and asked that the everyday security of Indian Muslim citizens should also be ensured. The speed and aggression with which they tried to silence Ali Mahmudabad is itself proof that he rightly exposed the double standards of the BJP,” Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha wrote in a post on X.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), while condemning the arrest, said, “While hate-mongers like Vijay Shah roam free, those calling for justice and peace are targeted in Modi’s India.”

Also read: Ashoka University washes hands of research paper on 2019 polls after political row

The other case

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav also posted on X questioning the arrest. “How can the police act based on such a ridiculous complaint as below? What was the great urgency to arrest him, on a Sunday, from outside the state? What’s happening here? What’s the message? Also ask: while Prof Khan has been arrested, has anything happened to the MP minister who actually insulted Col Sofia?”

Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar Spokesperson Anish Gawande also pointed out that Vijay Shah had faced “no consequences” for his statement.

“No arrest. No apology. No accountability. This is not about law and order. It’s about silencing academics, criminalising critique, and letting hate speech from those in power go unchecked,” he said in a post on X.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra called the BJP government “bigoted” and said, “We are moving court asap (as soon as possible),” in a post on X.

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi posted, “This targets an individual for his opinions; his post wasn’t anti-national or misogynistic. A mere complaint by a BJP worker made Haryana police take action.”

Solidarity from teachers and students

Teachers — both at Ashoka University and outside — as well as Mahmudabad’s former students expressed solidarity with him and anguish at his arrest.

Arindam Kabir, an Ashoka University alumnus who was taught by Mahmudabad, said his arrest was “very unfortunate”. “Since I’ve known him, he’s always been one to speak of a more progressive and secular society and politics. He has not said anything even remotely close to what he has been accused of,” he told The Federal.

Author and filmmaker Natasha Badhwar, who is also visiting faculty at Ashok University, said Mahmudabad was “widely respected as an academic” and “well-loved as a teacher of political science”.

“Prof Mahmudabad’s FB post is essentially a thoughtful statement underlining the consequences of war while also appreciating that the press conferences being led by army spokespersons, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wg Cdr Vyomika Singh show an ‘India united it its diversity’. It is scandalous that this is being distorted and misrepresented as an insult to the same spokespersons,” she told The Federal.

Also read: Ashoka University row: Professors threaten exodus if Sabyasachi Das not reinstated

To be an educated Muslim in India

Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand said Mahmudabad’s arrest was “yet another instance which tells you that in India to be an educated Muslim with a mind and expression is a crime”.

“Muslims are free to praise the government but they are not allowed to have their own view. The ground of arrest is most ridiculous as it simply does not exist. Ali Khan is being charged with saying something he has not said. Ali Khan in fact wrote like a good nationalist Muslim but the fact that he wanted Muslims to be treated with dignity was not tolerated,” he told The Federal.

Statement from JNUTA

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) in a statement said it was “outraged” by the arrest.

“Dr Khan committed no crime when he participated in the public debate by expressing his opinions on the issues in discussion, as did many others. As an academic, it was indeed part of his responsibility to enrich that debate,” the JNUTA said, adding that there was “absolutely nothing” his posts “to substantiate any allegation” made against him.

“It would have been entirely appropriate if those who disagreed with him, or did not like his criticisms of their point of view, had responded with their own counter-arguments. Instead, they have chosen the route of persecuting him through misuse of the state machinery. On the other hand, this very same machinery has been found wanting in its ability to act against a Minister for his remarks that both the Supreme Court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court have deemed objectionable and warranting prosecution,” the JNUTA said.

Misuse of law, say lawyers

Meanwhile, lawyers have also pointed out that Mahmudabad’s arrest was not in keeping with the law. “Professor Mahmudabad’s arrest is completely contrary to law and morality. Courts must now pass strictures on police and costs on complainants for violating legal and constitutional standards found in Shreya Singhal and other cases,” Senior Advocate Karuna Nandy said in a post on X.

Advocate Anas Tanwir told The Federal that Mahmudabad’s arrest had been a “misuse” of law.

“My understanding is that you arrest a person in a cognizable offence only if, first, he’s a threat to society, second, he’s a flight risk, third, there has to be recovery from him. In this case, none of these threats are satisfied. There was no need to arrest. If at all you had to charge him, you could charge him and he would face trial. But arrest in such a manner and for no reason at all is completely unnecessary and a misuse of the power of the law,” he said.

(With additional inputs from agencies)