Ashok Univ Prof refutes allegation that his statement on Op Sindoor was misogynistic

– By Geeta Seshu

The Haryana State Women’s Commission issued a summons to Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad for two of his social media posts, alleging that he made statements that allegedly “disparaged women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and promoted communal disharmony”. Prof Mahmudabad has contested the allegations and said they constitute “a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none.”

Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad is an associate professor and the head of the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University. He is a historian and a well-known writer, columnist and poet. While Ashoka University distanced itself from his comments and said he had made it in a personal capacity, members of the academic community and civil society groups rallied around and demanded that the Haryana State Women’s Commission retract the summons and offer him an unconditional apology.

The Commission took suo motu cognisance of his social media posts on May 8 and May 11, a day after Operation Sindoor, wherein he referred to the optics of the media briefing by the two women officers, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, as important but added that it would be “hypocrisy” if it didn’t translate to reality on the ground.
On his Facebook page, Prof Mahmudabad said he was “very happy to see so many right-wing 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.”

However, it was clear that the Commission was selective in picking on this part of his comment on the entire operation, which was about India’s response to terrorism, providing both a critical comment on the manner in which Pakistan’s military dealt with “militarised non-state actors. Another post, titled “The blind bloodlust for war!” was an impassioned comment about the futility of war as a solution.
Mahmudabad, who was summoned to appear before the Commission, has challenged its notice, issued by Renu Bhatia, the chairperson of the Commission, under section 10 (1)(f) and 10 (1)(1) of the Haryana State Commission for Women Act, 2012. The notice lists six prima facie concerns: disparagement of women in uniform; misrepresentation of facts through terms like “genocide” and “dehumanisation”; vilification of military actions against cross-border terrorism; potential incitement to communal unrest; violation of women’s dignity under the Constitution and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; and breach of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) ethical conduct regulations for faculty.

In his public statement, Prof Mahmudabad said that it was “clear that my remarks have been completely misunderstood and that the Commission has no jurisdiction whatsoever in the matter. The Women’s Commission is a body that serves an important function; however, the summons issued to me fail to highlight how my post is contrary to the rights of or laws for women.

Contrary to the allegations, my post appreciated the fact that the armed forces chose Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh for the press conference to highlight the fact that the dream of the founders of our Republic, of an India which is united in its diversity, is still very much alive. I even applauded members of the right wing who supported Colonel Qureshi and invited them to have the same attitude for common Indian Muslims who face demonisation and persecution on a daily basis. 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.

Prof Mahmudabad’s public statement, dated 14 May 2025: https://freespeechcollective.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Prof-Ali-Khan-Mahmudabad-Press-Statement-re-HSWC-14052025.pdf