The Haryana State Commission for Women has reportedly taken suo motu cognisance of comments made on social media by Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor and head of the department of political science at Ashoka University, Sonipat, regarding India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ against terror groups based in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In a notice issued to Ali Khan Mahmudabad, the commission stated that his remarks undermined women officers in the Indian armed forces and fomented communal discord. The professor has been asked to appear before the commission on Wednesday, The Indian Express reported.
The panel’s action comes after Mahmudabad posted a series of social media comments following India’s Operation Sindoor on May 7. These posts, which the commission found objectionable, have been attached to the show-cause notice served to him, the report added.
The Operation Sindoor gained special attention for the involvement of women officers Colonel Sofia Qureshi of Indian Army and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of Indian Air Force, who held multiple media briefings last week.
Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad?
- Ali Khan Mahmudabad is a historian who is also a political scientist and columnist.
- He holds a PhD and MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an undergraduate degree in history and political science from Amherst College.
- Mahmudabad has also studied Arabic at the University of Damascus.
What did he write on social media?
Mahmudabad had described the media briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’ by women officers as “optics” and “just hypocrisy”. The Haryana State Commission has interpreted his remarks as “an attempt to vilify national military actions”.
In a post on Facebook, which has been attached with the notice by the commission, Mahmudabad had written, “I am 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.”
Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the commission, told ThePrint that the panel exercised its authority under Sections 10(1)(f) and 10(1)(a) of the Haryana State Commission for Women Act, 2012, to take suo motu cognisance of Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s remarks.
The notice outlines six key concerns, including: disparagement of women in uniform, including Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh; 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.
