Two days after being summoned for his Operation Sindoor remarks “disparaging women in the armed forces and promoting communal disharmony,” Dr Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor at Ashoka University in Sonepat, failed to appear before the Haryana State Commission for Women on Wednesday.
Commission chairperson Renu Bhatia said Mahmudabad was expected at the panel's Panchkula office by 10am. “We waited for him till 3pm, but he did not turn up. Instead, around 3pm, he intimated us on e-mail that he had received our notice very late due to which he was unable to make it. This is a mere excuse to avoid appearance. Is Sonepat so far away? I have staff coming to Panchkula from Sonepat daily. It’s hardly a two-hour drive,” she added.
Bhatia added that the Commission is considering legal action against the professor. “His social media posts suggest his mentality is of rebellion against the country. There is no love for the country. He lives in India, achieved his accomplishments here, but uses such a language against his own people,” she remarked.
The panel had issued a show-cause notice on May 12, taking suo motu cognisance of Mahmudabad’s remarks made on or around May 7 in connection with Operation Sindoor—India’s retaliatory strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the 22 April Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people, most of them tourists.
In one of his social media posts, Mahmudabad said “right-wing people applauding Colonel Sofia Qureshi should demand protection for victims of mob lynchings and arbitrary bulldozing of properties”. He described media briefings by Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh as “optics,” adding:
"Optics must translate to reality on the ground; otherwise, it’s just hypocrisy.” The panel said an initial review of Mahmudabad’s remarks had raised concerns about the “disparagement of women in uniform, including Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh and undermined their role as professional officers in the Indian armed forces”.
The panel said Mahmudabad’s remarks reveal misrepresentation of facts with repeated reference to “genocide, dehumanisation, and hypocrisy”, thereby attributing malicious communal intent to the government and the armed forces as well as inciting communal distress and attempting to disturb internal peace. It also saw the comments as attempts at vilifying military actions and the role of women officers in response to cross-border terrorism, potential incitement to public unrest, especially targeting communal harmony and undermining national integrity.
The Commission further stated that Mahmudabad’s comments potentially violated ethical conduct norms laid out in the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations, 2018, and were in breach of the dignity expected of university faculty.
Bhatia described Mahmudabad’s statement as “highly shameful,” adding that she had reviewed his social media posts. “The two women officers are icons of the country and inspire the daughters of India. They represented India at the briefings that were being watched by the world. I’m amazed how this man became a professor when he can’t respect daughters. What will he teach his students? If he could say this about them, what about the girls of the university? He should not be a professor now and Ashoka (University) should think about this,” she said.
Ashoka University's statement about the issue
Comments made by a faculty member on his personal social media account do not represent the opinion of the university. These statements have been made by him independently. Ashoka University and all members of the Ashoka community are proud of India’s armed forces and support them, unequivocally, in their actions towards maintaining national security. We stand in solidarity with the nation and our forces.
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