We, the undersigned women’s organisations, strongly condemn the arrest of Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Associate Professor at Ashoka University, in connection with his social media posts in the background of Operation Sindoor. This unwarranted action was strangely preceded by the summons served on him by the Haryana State Women’s Commission on 12 May 2025, after which an FIR was registered against him by the Sonipat police station.
The notice accused his posts of ‘malicious intent’ and accused him for ‘violating the dignity and outraging the modesty of women.’ Further, the media reports that the FIR against him has pressed charges of ‘sedition.'!
We consider this Notice and the subsequent arrest as a deliberate attempt to harass an academic who has supported the need for maintaining peace and communal harmony. The social media posts for which he has been targeted explicitly applaud the sacrifices of the armed forces and praised the efforts of the government in holding the Pakistan accountable for cross border terrorism. Dr Mahmudabad uses the example of the press conference led by Col Sofia Qureshi and Wing Cdr Vyomika Singh, to celebrate national unity and to highlight the urgency of fighting communal targeting and polarization.
We consider the arrest of Dr Mahmudabad as an attack on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. We consider it one more instance of the misuse of police and statutory institutions like the State Women’s Commission by the BJP-led government to target intellectuals and activists especially from a specific religious community. The same Haryana SWC remains silent on growing atrocities on women in Haryana.
We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Ali Khan Mahmudabad, and the withdrawal of the FIR and HSWC summons against him.
ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDIAN WOMEN
