On May 18, 2025, Indian police arrested Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor and head of the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, for comments that he made regarding Indian military action against Pakistan.
On May 8, 2025, Mahmudabad posted to Facebook commenting on Operation Sindoor, India’s military action conducted against Pakistan launched on May 6, after unidentified attackers killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam village, located in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In the post, Mahmudabad commented on an official briefing about the operation provided to the press by Colonel Sophia Qureishi and another woman member of the military. The briefing was the first time that a woman military leader had briefed the press. Mahmudabad stated that he was “very happy to see so many right wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia Qureishi,” but criticized the press for not being equally vocally in condemning violence against Muslim citizens of India, “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.”
Indian police charged Mahmudabad with violating sections of India’s criminal code related to maintaining communal harmony, incitement of armed rebellion or subversion, insults of religious beliefs, public mischief, deliberate actions aimed at insulting the modesty of a woman, and endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity on the basis of two complaints filed against Mahmudabad for his Facebook post.
Mahmudabad was released on interim bail on May 21, after being held for three days. At the time of writing, the court had not yet ruled on the case.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary arrest of a scholar. Absent further evidence of wrongdoing, this arrest suggests an effort to retaliate against or deter academic work or views — conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a party. State authorities must respect academic freedom and nonviolent expressive conduct and refrain from actions intended to punish, restrict, or deter such conduct. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, such actions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/18/indian-professor-arrested-over-social-media-post-on-military-operation
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/who-is-ali-khan-mahmudabad-ashoka-university-prof-arrested-for-calling-op-sindoor-press-briefing-illusion-of-secular-india
https://scroll.in/latest/1082481/ashoka-university-professor-arrested-for-remarks-about-operation-sindoor-press-briefings
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/supreme-court-bail-conditions-ashoka-professor-ali-khan-mahmudabad-operation-sindoor-facebook-posts-101752652052206.html
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20250521171215308
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/05/india-authorities-should-immediately-terminate-unwarranted-investigation-and-release-professor-ali-khan-mahmudabad/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17rb0pJsgBb1EVERyvDsE-TfHqAVZNOcx/view
https://www.facebook.com/AliMahmudabad/posts/pfbid0uUNczZFWSZiA2VfjyDpoj9vguUBakTxnymZScYn7dptrmHK9ZfRUkqQR6UfDeSDxl?rdid=955mlO5AZ6Mshhqb&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fp%2F12KmH4dNa4Q%2F#