Latest news with #EnemyPropertiesAct
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Ali Khan Mahmudabad: Royal scion's deep-rooted connection with ‘City of Nawabs'
LUCKNOW: Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Associate Professor at Ashoka University, and an acclaimed historian and political scientist, carries a royal legacy rooted in Lucknow, the city of Nawabs. The professor, recently in the news for his social media post on women officers holding a media briefing during Operation Sindoor, was born in Lucknow on December 2, 1982. Known for his scholarly work on nationalism, political Islam, and South Asian history, Ali Khan Mahmudabad sparked controversy with a Facebook post questioning the 'optics' of women officers leading a media briefing. The post reportedly challenged the 'representational intent' behind showcasing women officers during the military operation, asking whether their presence signified a genuine shift or was merely symbolic. It led to his arrest on 18 May and subsequent 14-day judicial custody, prior to an interim bail granted by the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday. However, the apex court did not halt the investigation against the professor and instructed him to refrain from posting on social media regarding the case, commenting on Operation Sindoor, or the Pahalgam attack. He was also ordered to surrender his passport. Hailing from the historic royal family of Mahmudabad in Uttar Pradesh, Ali Khan's father, Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan – popularly known as Raja Sahib Mahmudabad – was a two-time Congress MLA and had fought a decades-long legal battle to reclaim family properties seized under the Enemy Properties Act. Having completed his schooling at the prestigious La Martiniere in Lucknow, Ali Khan Mahmudabad went on to study at King's College School and Winchester College in the UK. He holds an MPhil and PhD in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge.
The Print
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Even some BJP leaders are stumped by his arrest. All about Ashoka professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad
The Haryana Police had arrested Ali from Delhi on 18 May following a complaint lodged by a general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha in Haryana. The complaint was filed 17 May. His case has now reached the Supreme Court. An associate professor of Ashoka University, the 42-year-old belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Mahmudabad in Uttar Pradesh. Ali teaches at Ashoka University where he is an associate professor and heads the political science department. Lucknow: From Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and TMC MP Mahua Moitra to BJP leader Ritesh Pandey and CPI(M) politburo member Subhashini Ali, leaders from across the political spectrum have questioned the arrest of Ali Khan Mahmudabad over his remarks on Operation Sindoor. 'I am still firm with my stand on Ali Mahmudabad. His post was misunderstood by those who made a complaint. He was never a controversial guy. We shared a good bond. His work for society is commendable,' Pandey, an ex-MP from Ambedkar Nagar, told ThePrint. Prayagraj BJP MLA Harsh Vardhan Bajpai, too, extended support to Ali. 'I have read his Facebook post. I noticed there was nothing controversial in it. What was the point of such arrest, I really do not know. This is awkward that an intellectual got arrested for writing facts,' he told ThePrint. But it's not just political leaders who have come out in his support, as the likes of Amnesty India and stakeholders from the academic world also condemned the action taken against the professor. ThePrint looks at Ali Khan Mahmudabad's background and how he is linked with the world of politics, academics and arts. Also Read: There's a gap between what Ali Khan Mahmudabad said and what he's accused of—basic literacy Erstwhile royals, political links Ali's father Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan also known as 'Suleiman' was the only son of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and long-time treasurer and financier of the Muslim League in the years leading up to the partition of India. Suleiman himself was a former two-term Congress MLA between 1985 and 1991 from Mahmudabad. In 1991, he lost to BJP's Narendra Verma in the pocket borough. In 1996, the Congress filed its old loyalist and former MLA Ammar Rizvi from that constituency. His decades-long legal fight to reclaim the erstwhile royal family's properties seized by the government under the Enemy Properties Act is well-known. 'Suleiman did not leave the Congress but distanced himself from the party activities when he did not get any help from the top leadership in his struggle to claim his properties in the Awadh region,' claims a senior UP Congress functionary. Suleiman passed away in October 2023 after a prolonged illness. Ali's mother Rani Vijaya hails from a renowned family of Udaipur. His paternal grandfather Jagat Singh Mehta was a civil servant, diplomat, and academician. Mehta served as India's foreign secretary from 1976 to 1979. His maternal uncle Vikram Singh Mehta, a business executive-turned-analyst, is chairman at the New Delhi-based public policy think tank Center for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP). Like his father Suleiman, Ali did his schooling from Lucknow's La Martiniere College and went abroad for higher studies. After completing his studies at Cambridge in the UK and Damascus in Syria, Ali returned to India where he is now known as a multilingual political scholar focused on writing on South Asian and Middle Eastern politics, communal harmony, and Muslim identity. Ali wrote a book, 'Poetry of Belonging: Muslim Imaginings of India 1850–1950', in which he mentioned about the north-Indian Muslim identity through poetry. He is married to Onaiza Drabu, a Kashmiri anthropologist and writer. She is the daughter of former J&K minister Haseeb Drabu. Following his father's path, Ali entered politics in 2017 but he chose to go with the Samajwadi Party. He made an entry in SP circles when Akhilesh Yadav was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Due to his connections, Ali helped several foreign dignitaries to meet Akhilesh. He was appointed as a national spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party in 2019. He was considered among the closest associates of Akhilesh till he was active in the party in 2022. Since 2022, Mahmudabad has not held an official post in the party but SP functionaries claim that he is still a part of a core circle of Akhilesh with direct access to the party high command. 'There was a time when Ali was considered a core member of the think tank of the Rashtriya Adhyaksh (party chief). He had a major role in preparing English content for the party but due to his professional commitments and because we were unable to form a government in 2022, he decided to focus more on academics. Still, he is with the party. Almost every Eid, Akhilesh ji visits his palace,' a SP functionary told ThePrint. Close associates of Ali's family claim that the properties of the Mahmudabad family are spread in Lucknow, Sitapur, and Uttarakhand's Nainital. In Lucknow, they are said to own properties, including the Butler Palace, a large section of Hazratganj market, Halwasiya market, and Mahmudabad Qila, worth several thousand crores. 'The family reputation of Ali's family is very high. They have connections across parties and also in bureaucracy. His father was famously called as 'Raja Saheb', who focused on the education of his children. Ali studied in top institutions abroad, yet remains connected with his roots. He knows multiple languages and also has a good hold on Urdu,' Syyed Hussain Afsar, a Lucknow-based family friend, told ThePrint. 'It is unbelievable that the Haryana Police arrested a scholar. His social media post was misinterpreted.' (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: Haryana women commission warns of FIR against Ashoka prof if he skips summons over Op Sindoor post again
Mint
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
SC may hear Ashoka University professor Ali Mahmudabad's plea against arrest on Operation Sindoor Facebook post today
The Supreme Court is likely to hear a petition filed by Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad on Tuesday, May 20, against his arrest over a Facebook post over Operation Sindoor, a joint military action by the Indian Armed Forces targeting nine locations of Pakistan and PoK, according to a report by the Hindustan Times. On Monday, Mahmudabad, who was arrested on Sunday, moved the Supreme Court to challenge his arrest. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal stated the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai, seeking an early hearing of the case. The complaint against Mahmudabad over the social media post regarding press briefings of Operation Sindoor was filed by Yogesh Jatheri, the general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha in Haryana, according to reports. Jatheri is a village sarpanch from Sonipat. Reportedly, the 42-year-old professor was arrested under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that deal with desition and insulting religious beliefs. One of the charges against him is Section 152 of the BNS, which criminalises acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India. One of Mahmudabad's lawyers, Kapil Balyan, told news agency PTI that he was produced before a court on Sunday evening and remanded in police custody for two days. Meanwhile, Ashoka University has assured to cooperate with the Police. 'We have been made aware that Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been taken into police custody earlier today. We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case. The University will continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully," ANI reported citing the University's statement. Ali Khan Mahmudabad teaches Political Science at Ashoka University. He is the son of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, popularly known as Raja Sahab Mahmudabad, who fought a legal battle for nearly forty years to reclaim his ancestral property seized by the government under the Enemy Properties Act. Mahmudabad's father was the only son of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and long-time treasurer and major financier of the Muslim League before the partition of India. His mother, Rani Vijay, is the daughter of Padma Bhushan Jagat Singh Mehta, who served as the Foreign Secretary of India from 1976-79.
Mint
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad, the Ashoka University Professor arrested for remarks on Operation Sindoor?
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who teaches Political Science at Haryana-based Ashoka University, has been arrested for his remarks regarding press briefings on Operation Sindoor. The arrest was based on a complaint filed by Yogesh Jatheri, the general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha in Haryana, reports said quoting his lawyers. Ali, 42, has been arrested under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, inciting armed rebellion or subversive activities and insulting religious beliefs, reports said. Sedition charges have also been filed against him, according to some reports. 'Ali Khan Mahmudabad, associate professor at private university in Haryana, arrested for his remarks on Operation Sindoor,' a police official told news agency PTI. No more details were avaiable about the arrest. 'Haryana police has illegally arrested Dr Ali Khan. Taken to Haryana from Delhi without transit remand. FIR at 8 PM. Police reached his home the next morning at 7 AM,' Delhi University professor Apoorvanand said in a post on X. 'The Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court must intervene. Please see the Pravir Purkayastha judgment of the Supreme Court,' he said. Ali Khan Mahmudabad a historian, political scientist, writer, poet and a faculty at Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana. Born in Lucknow on December, 2, 1982, Ali is the son of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, popularly known as Raja Saheb Mahmudabad, who spent about forty in a legal battle to reclaim his ancestral property seized by the government under the Enemy Properties Act. Raja Saheb passed away in October 2023. Ali's father was the only son of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and long-time treasurer and major financier of the Muslim League before partition of India. Ali did his his early schooling from La Martiniere school, Lucknow. Later, he went to England to study at King's College School till 1996. He graduated Winchester College in 2001. Ali obtained his MPhil and PhD in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Before his PhD from Cambridge, Ali studied Arabic at the University of Damascus in Syria. He regularly wrote about Syria for various print and online newspapers based in his travels in the region. He has also spent substantial time in Iran and Iraq amongst other places. His works based on his travel have appeared in reputed publications includint the the National Geographic magazine. Ali teaches political science and history at Ashoka University. He is currently Head of the Department of Political Science, where he is employed as Associate Professor. Ashoka University confirmed Ali's arrest and said it will continue to cooperate with Police. 'We have been made aware that Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been taken into police custody earlier today. We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case. The University will continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully," the university said in a statement. Ali'S spouse is daughter of Haseeb Drabu, former minister in Jammu and Kashmir. Ali had joined the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. Ali has been arrested days after Haryana women's commission summoned him for his alleged remarks on Facebook that the Commission said "disparaged women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and promoted communal disharmony'. The Commisison took suo motu cognisance of his social media posts following Operation Sindoor on May 7. In a social media post on May 8, Mahmudabad, the head of the university's political science department, had highlighted the apparent irony of Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofia Qureshi, who had represented the Army during media briefings about Indian military operations against terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After the summons, Ali said in a public statement mentioning that his posts were 'misunderstood' .' Slamming the summons that he had received, the Ashoka University professor commented, 'This is a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none'. This is a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none. On May 7 morning, India conducted strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan, two weeks after the brutal killing of 26 civilians in Pahalgam. The strikes by India since 7 May were coined 'Operation Sindoor.'
Mint
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Who is Ali Khan Mahmudabad, the Ashoka University Professor 'arrested' for remarks on Operation Sindoor
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who teaches Political Science at Haryana-based Ashoka University, has been arrested for his remarks regarding press briefings on Operation Sindoor. The arrest was based on a complaint filed by Yogesh Jatheri, the general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha in Haryana, his lawyer said. Ali, 42, has been arrested under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, inciting armed rebellion or subversive activities and insulting religious beliefs, reports said. 'Haryana police has illegally arrested Dr Ali Khan. Taken to Haryana from Delhi without transit remand. FIR at 8 PM. Police reached his home the next morning at 7 AM,' Delhi University professor and writer Apoorvanand said in a post on X. 'The Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court must intervene. Please see the Pravir Purkayastha judgment of the Supreme Court,' he said. Born on December, 2, 1982. Ali is the son of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, popularly known as Raja of Mahmudabad, who spent about four decades if his life in a legal battle to reclaim his ancestral property seized by the government under the Enemy Properties Act. Ali's father was the only son of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and long-time treasurer and major financier of the Muslim League in the years leading up to the partition of India Ali did his schooling up until the from La Martiniere Lucknow. Later, he went to England to study at King's College School till 1996. He graduated sWinchester College in 2001. Ali obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He has also studied at the University of Damascus in Syria and the Amherst College in the United States. Ali is married to daughter of former minister in Jammu and Kashmir. He joined Samajwadi Party in 2017. Ali has been arrested days after Haryana women's commission summoned him for his alleged remarks on Facebook that the Commission said "disparaged women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and promoted communal disharmony'. The Commisison took suo motu cognisance of his social media posts following Operation Sindoor on May 7. In a social media post on May 8, Mahmudabad, the head of the university's political science department, had highlighted the apparent irony of Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofia Qureshi, who had represented the Army during media briefings about Indian military operations against terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After the summons, Ali said in a public statement mentioning that his posts were 'misunderstood and objected to.' Slamming the summons that he had received, the Ashoka University professor commented, 'This is a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none'. This is a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none.
