'Inverted the Meaning, Invented an Issue': Ashoka Professor on Women's Panel's Reaction to Army Post
Alishan Jafri
New Delhi: The Haryana State Commission For Women on May 12 summoned Ali Khan Mahmudabad, head of the political science department at Ashoka University, over remarks on social media which the commission alleged vitiated communal harmony and “disparaged women in the armed forces.”
Attaching screenshots of two Facebook posts made by Mahmudabad regarding ‘Operation Sindoor’ and the public response surrounding it, the commission said a prima facie review of the posts revealed several concerns – including disparagement of women officers Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, misrepresentation of facts through terms such as “genocide,” “dehumanisation,” and “hypocrisy,” incitement of communal unrest and attack on national integrity, violation of women's modesty, and breach of University Grants Commission ethics and guidelines for university faculty.
The Facebook posts
In a Facebook post on May 8, a day after India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, Mahmudabad commented on the first national press briefing by the Indian armed forces.
He wrote that while he's happy that right-wing commentators are praising Colonel Qureshi, “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.”
“The optics of two women officers presenting their findings is important…” he wrote, “but optics must translate to reality on the ground; otherwise it’s just hypocrisy.”
He added that the press conference was, “just a fleeting glimpse – an illusion and allusion, perhaps – to an India that defied the logic on which Pakistan was built. As I said, the grassroots reality that common Muslims face is different from what the government tried to show, but at the same time the press conference shows that an India, united by its diversity, is not completely dead as an idea.”
In another post titled ‘The blind bloodlust for war’, he accused sections of the media, religious leaders, and politicians in both India and Pakistan of war mongering.
“It’s happening on both sides of the Radcliffe Line – there are madmen everywhere, but those closer to the border know what war means: it means arbitrary, unpredictable and senseless death,” he wrote.
“Think about what it means when you say ‘wipe them out...’ You are saying kill all the children, the elderly, minorities, those who are opposed to war on the other side and many other innocent people who want to do exactly what you want to do: be a father, a mother, a daughter, a son, a grandparent and a friend.
'Shameful'
At a press conference, the Haryana State Commission For Women chairperson, Renu Bhatia, called Mahmudabad's remarks 'extremely shameful.'
“How and why did he become a professor if he can't respect our daughters? What will he teach our daughters?" she said. “His posts show that he has a mentality of revolt against the nation.” She said that Mahmudabad was just living in India but had no love for the country.
In 2023, Bhatia had received backlash for her comments on "girls who go to Oyo [a hotel chain] with boyfriend[s] and later complain of rape and blackmail." "You know you are not going there for Hanuman aarti," she had said.
She made an appeal to the Ashoka University to take action against Mahmudabad. “If he can say this about Colonel Qureshi and [Wing Commander] Vyomika, what is he teaching our daughters? How does he treat them or look at them?”
In a statement, Ashoka University distanced itself from Mahmudabad’s views and said that he had expressed his opinions in a personal capacity. “Ashoka University and all members of the Ashoka community are proud of India’s armed forces and support them unequivocally.”
‘This is a new form of censorship and harassment’
In a press statement released on May 14, Mahmudabad refuted the allegations. “The screenshots [of his posts] attached to the notice,” he said, “make it clear that my remarks have been completely misunderstood.”
Mahmudabad said the commission had misread and misunderstood his posts to “such an extent that they have inverted their meaning, which invents issues where there are none.”
Describing the notice as a new form of censorship, he said it failed to explain how his comments infringed upon the rights of women.
“Contrary to the allegations, my post appreciated that the armed forces chose Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh for the press conference to highlight that the dream of the founders of our Republic – of an India united in its diversity – is still very much alive.”
He added, “I have analysed and commented on the way care has been taken by the Indian armed forces to not target military or civilian installations or infrastructure so that there is no unnecessary escalation.”
“I have exercised my fundamental right to freedom of thought and speech to promote peace and harmony and to applaud the Indian armed forces for their resolute action, while criticising those who preach hatred and seek to destabilise India,” he said.
This is perhaps the most shoddy defamatory piece of journalism that I have seen. It’s clearly a hatchet job. My quote has been cherry picked in order to create an headline.
Writer hasn’t even bothered to check that the posts are still on my Facebook! https://t.co/GBRBwR3SGv pic.twitter.com/w1oxebGGj5
— Ali Khan Mahmudabad (@Mahmudabad) May 14, 2025
'Slandering me'
Speaking to The Wire, Mahmudabad said he had been misquoted by legacy media and denied deleting any posts, as opposed to claims in some reports.
“A news organisation cherry picked my posts and by doing so completely inverted the meaning of what I was saying. This is not only misrepresenting facts but also disparaging and slandering me. In the text of that article, they claim that the posts have been removed but they are still there on my Facebook.”
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