Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor at Ashoka University, has been arrested in connection with a social media post about Operation Sindoor, police said on Sunday.
The arrest was made following a complaint filed by a BJP Yuva Morcha leader.
A section of Mr Mahmudabad's now-deleted post reads, "I am very happy to see so many right wing commentators applauding Colonel Sofiya Qureshi 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. The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is important, but optics must translate to reality on the ground, otherwise it's just hypocrisy."
Who Is Ali Khan Mahmudabad?
- Ali Khan Mahmudabad was born on December 2, 1982 and grew up in Mahmudabad, Uttar Pradesh. He is the grandson of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and a key financier of the Muslim League during India's partition. His father is Sulaiman, Raja of Mahmudabad, and his mother is Rani Vijay, daughter of diplomat Jagat Singh Mehta.
- He studied in Lucknow, then moved to the UK and joined King's College School. Later, in 1996, he took admission at Winchester College and completed high school. He earned a Bachelor's degree in History and Political Science from Amherst College (USA). He studied Arabic at the University of Damascus after graduation. Mr Mahmudabad received an MPhil in Historical Studies from Cambridge University and completed his PhD in History from the same institute.
- Ali Khan Mahmudabad is the Head of the Department and an assistant professor of History at Ashoka University in Sonipat, Haryana. He is also a poet and columnist, and is fluent in Urdu, Hindi, English, Arabic, Persian, and French.
- He writes a fortnightly Urdu column for and contributes to many leading national publications. Mr Mahmudabad has also been published in international outlets such as The Guardian (UK), The Straits Times (Singapore), Huffington Post, and openDemocracy.
- Since January 2015, he has served as a Strategic Advisor on South Asian and Middle Eastern Geopolitics, according to his LinkedIn profile. He frequently advises policy think tanks and lectures at schools and universities.
- Ali Khan Mahmudabad is a member and spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party.
