What does Ali Khan Mahmudabad teach at Ashoka University?
, a prominent academic at
, was arrested on Sunday following a complaint filed by a
leader. The arrest stems from a social media post he made in response to public praise for
. The post, which has since been deleted, read: '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.
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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.'
Police confirmed that Mahmudabad was taken into custody under relevant sections of the law related to promoting enmity. The arrest has triggered sharp reactions from the academic community and civil liberties groups, who argue that criticism of state policy should not be grounds for criminal action.
Courses rooted in History, Identity, and Political Thought
At Ashoka University, Ali Khan Mahmudabad serves as Head of the Department of History and is an associate professor of
. His academic instruction centers on the intellectual and political history of modern South Asia, with a strong emphasis on nationalism, religious identity, and communalism. He is known for guiding students through complex historical events with a critical lens and for fostering open discussions on state, identity, and belonging.
His curriculum often merges rigorous historical research with contemporary political discourse, encouraging students to explore the intersections of religion, language, and law in shaping public life in India.
A distinguished education across continents
Mahmudabad's academic path reflects both depth and diversity. After completing primary education at La Martiniere in Lucknow, he continued schooling in the United Kingdom at King's College School, followed by Winchester College.
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He earned his undergraduate degree in History and Political Science from Amherst College, USA, in 2006.
Pursuing language and regional expertise, he studied Arabic at the University of Damascus before heading to the University of Cambridge, where he earned both an MPhil and a PhD in History. His doctoral dissertation, supervised by Professor Sir Christopher Bayly and Professor Javed Majeed, examined 'Rhetorics and Spaces of Belonging among North Indian Muslims, 1850–1950.' His academic work has been widely recognized and published in journals and scholarly books focused on
and Shi'a networks.
Public intellectual and political commentator
Fluent in Urdu, Arabic, Persian, French, Hindi, and English, Mahmudabad is also a prolific writer. He contributes a fortnightly column to The Inquilab and writes regularly for publications including
The Guardian, The Straits Times, and HuffPost
. His scholarly writings appear in edited volumes like The Shi'a in Modern South Asia and Lucknow: A City Between Cultures.
His book,
, explores Muslim conceptions of homeland and identity in pre- and post-colonial India. As a translator, he has rendered Urdu literary works into English, most notably
Break of Dawn by Khan Mahboob Tarzi
.
Among his notable literary contributions, Ali Khan Mahmudabad translated
Break of Dawn
, the English version of
Aghaaz-e-Sahr by Khan Mahboob Tarzi
, bringing a classic piece of Urdu fiction to a wider audience.
A royal lineage and political legacy
Born on December 2, 1982, in Mahmudabad, Uttar Pradesh, Ali Khan Mahmudabad hails from a family deeply entrenched in the political history of the subcontinent. He is the grandson of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and a significant financier of the Muslim League during India's partition. His father, Sulaiman Khan, holds the titular title of Raja of Mahmudabad, while his mother, Rani Vijay, is the daughter of the distinguished diplomat Jagat Singh Mehta.
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