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‘New form of censorship and harassment,’ says Ashoka University’s Associate Professor in response to Women Commission summons

• Posted on May 18, 2025

In a public statement in response to the summons by the Haryana State Commission for Women against his comments on Operation Sindoor, Ashoka University’s Associate Professor (Political Science) Ali Khan Mahmudabad has said that “this is a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none”, adding that his posts were “misread” and “misunderstood”.

In the statement posted on social media platforms, Mr. Khan said he had “exercised his fundamental right to freedom of thought and speech in order to promote peace and harmony and applaud the Indian armed forces for their resolute action”, adding that the “women’s commission, while overreaching its jurisdiction, had misread and misunderstood my posts to such an extent that they have inverted their meaning”.

Saying his lawyers had represented him in front of the Commission on May 14, Mr. Khan said “the summons issued to me fail to highlight how my post is contrary to the rights of or laws for women”.

“if anything, my entire comments were about safeguarding the lives of both citizens and soldiers,” read his statement, adding that “there is nothing remotely misogynistic about my comments”.

The Commission’s Chairperson Renu Bhatia told The Hindu over phone that she met the University’s Vice-Chancellor and registrar in this connection on Thursday and allowed them time till May 23 to make sure that the Associate Professor appeared before the panel in-person. “His lawyers representing him before the panel is not acceptable. He must appear in-person. The Commission will mull legal action against him in case he does not adhere to the summons deadline,” said Ms. Bhatia. On his public statement, Ms. Bhatia said his interpretation cannot change the meaning of his posts.

Later in the day, the Ashoka University issued a statement saying the “comments made by a Faculty member on his personal social media pages do not represent the opinion of the university. These statements have been made by him independently in his individual capacity”. Saying that the institute stood in solidarity with the nation and the forces, the statement added that “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”.

A letter in support of Mr. Khan has been initiated by Delhi University’s Hindi Professor Apoorvanand and Ashoka University’s History Professor Aparna Vaidik seeking to retract the summons.

The Commission had, in its letter on May 12, said that his comments revealed concerns such as disparagement of women in uniform, including Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, undermining their roles as professional officers and misrepresentation of facts with repeated reference to “genocide”, “dehumanisation” and “hypocrisy” attributing malicious intent to the Indian government.

Ali Khan Mahmudabad defends freedom of speech against Haryana State Commission for Women's summons, claiming misinterpretation of his comments. | Source: The Hindu

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