Source : INDIATV NEWS
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an Ashoka University professor, was arrested on May 18 over a social media post about Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. His arrest followed a complaint by a member of the BJP’s youth wing.
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at Ashoka University in Haryana’s Sonipat, was arrested on May 18 over a social media post related to Operation Sindoor — India’s ongoing military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Mahmudabad’s arrest followed a complaint by a member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Haryana State Commission for Women had also issued a notice to him regarding his remarks, adding to the pressure on the university to act.
Royal lineage and political legacy
Ali Khan Mahmudabad comes from one of India’s prominent royal families. Born on December 2, 1982, in Lucknow, he is the son of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, also known as Raja Sahab Mahmudabad — a two-time Congress MLA from Mahmudabad, a key figure in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh. His father is known for his decades-long legal battle to reclaim family properties seized under the Enemy Properties Act, including the iconic Butler Palace, Halwasiya Market, Hazratganj Market, and Mahmudabad Qila in Lucknow, along with assets in Sitapur, Nainital, and other parts of the country.
Mahmudabad’s grandfather, Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, was the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and a significant financier of the Muslim League before India’s independence. His mother, Rani Vijay, is the daughter of former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Mehta, who served under External Affairs Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1976 to 1979. Mahmudabad is married to the daughter of Haseeb Drabu, a former Jammu and Kashmir finance minister.
Academic credentials and international experience
Mahmudabad completed his schooling at La Martiniere College in Lucknow before moving to the UK, where he attended King’s College School and Winchester College. He later pursued an MPhil and PhD in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge, focusing on the evolution of Muslim political identity in North India between 1850 and 1950. His doctoral thesis explored themes like public poetry gatherings (mush‘irah), homeland (watan), citizenship, and Muslim selfhood. Mahmudabad also studied Arabic at the University of Damascus in Syria and has reported from the Middle East for international publications, including National Geographic.
Political affiliations and public life
Mahmudabad briefly entered active politics in 2018, joining the Samajwadi Party and serving as its national spokesperson from 2019 to 2022. Though considered close to party president Akhilesh Yadav at the time, he has not held any formal position within the party since 2022.
Literary contributions
In 2020, Mahmudabad published his book ‘Poetry of Belonging: Muslim Imaginings of India 1850–1950’, a work that reflects his academic interest in the cultural and political history of North Indian Muslims. His scholarly output also includes writings on Sufism, Shia communities, and the cultural heritage of Awadh and Lucknow.
