Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Ashoka University professor held over Op Sindoor post?
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at Ashoka University in Haryana's Sonipat, was arrested on May 18 over a social media post about Operation Sindoor — India's military response to the Pahalgam terrorist attacks.Delhi Police arrested Ali after a member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha filed a complaint against him. The Haryana State Commission for Women had also issued a notice to him regarding his remarks.advertisementROYAL SCIONAli Khan Mahmudabad is a renowned writer, poet, political scientist, and historian. Born on December 2, 1982, in Lucknow, he hails from the influential Mahmudabad royal family. His father, Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan — also known as Raja Sahab Mahmudabad — was a two-time Congress MLA from Mahmudabad and a popular figure in Uttar Pradesh's Awadh region. He fought a four-decade legal battle to reclaim family properties seized under the Enemy Properties Act.These properties include the iconic Butler Palace, Halwasiya Market, Hazratganj market, and Mahmudabad Qila in Lucknow, along with assets in Sitapur, Nainital, and other parts of the country.Ali's grandfather, Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, was the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and a key financier of the Muslim League before India's independence. His mother, Rani Vijay, is the daughter of former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Mehta, who held office from 1976 to 1979 under External Affairs Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Ali is married to the daughter of Haseeb Drabu, who served as Jammu and Kashmir's Finance Minister during the 2015–2018 PDP–BJP government.EDUCATION AND CAREERadvertisementAli completed his schooling at La Martiniere in Lucknow and later moved to the UK, studying at King's College School and Winchester College. He earned his MPhil and PhD in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge. He also studied Arabic at the University of Damascus in Syria. He has travelled widely across the Middle East, reporting from Syria and writing for international publications including National Geographic.At Ashoka University, his academic focus included the evolution of Muslim political identity in North India between 1850 and 1950. His doctoral thesis explored themes such as public poetry gatherings (mush'irah), homeland (watan), citizenship, and Muslim selfhood.In 2020, he released the book 'Poetry of Belonging: Muslim Imaginings of India 1850–1950'. His scholarly work also includes writings on Sufis, Shias, and the cultural history of Awadh and Lucknow.POLITICAL STINTMahmudabad briefly ventured into politics, joining the Samajwadi Party in 2018 and serving as its national spokesperson from 2019 to 2022. Though once considered close to party president Akhilesh Yadav, he has not held any formal position within the party since 2022.
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