A senior professor at a prominent private university in northern India has been arrested in connection with his social media commentary on the country’s recent military action in Pakistan.
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Chair of the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was detained by Haryana Police in Delhi on Sunday following a complaint lodged by the Haryana State Commission for Women.
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The complaint stemmed from posts in which Professor Mahmudabad questioned the symbolic use of female Muslim officers in public briefings related to Operation Sindoor. While acknowledging the importance of figures such as Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, he argued that such representation amounted to “optics” unless accompanied by substantive reforms addressing the broader status of women in the Armed Forces and public institutions. He also drew attention to ongoing concerns about mob violence targeting Muslim men.
My statement re the summons that I received from the Haryana State Women’s Commission.
The posts that were misunderstood and objected to can be accessed on my Facebook page. pic.twitter.com/U4rZrAXhFx
— Ali Khan Mahmudabad (@Mahmudabad) May 14, 2025
In a separate post, Mahmudabad commended India’s military strategy but expressed concern over the growing use of war rhetoric in public discourse.
His arrest has triggered widespread criticism from academic and civil society circles, who have described the action as an act of intimidation and an assault on free expression.
The Committee for Academic Freedom (CAF) at Ashoka University issued a strongly worded internal statement on Sunday, describing the arrest as “a disproportionate response based on insubstantial claims” and condemning it as “a serious violation of academic freedom,” according to a report by The Indian Express.
