Indian professor arrested for criticising military briefing

NEW DELHI: The Indian authorities have arrested a prominent academic over a social media post that criticised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) discriminatory policies against Muslims and raised questions over the recent briefings on India’s military operation against Pakistan.

The development follows a military confrontation between Pakistan and India over New Delhi’s allegations against Islamabad about a deadly attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJ&K) Pahalgam. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor at Haryana’s Ashoka University, was detained on Sunday in New Delhi, according to local media. His arrest came more than a week after Pakistan and India, both nuclear-armed nations, agreed to a ceasefire.

The police said Mahmudabad, 42, was booked under sections of the criminal code pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, incitement of armed rebellion or subversive activities, and insults of religious beliefs. The case was registered following a complaint by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the youth wing of the BJP in Haryana, as reported by Indian media.

In a social media post on May 8, Mahmudabad, the head of the university’s political science department, highlighted the apparent irony of right-wing Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofia Qureshi, who had addressed the media briefings. He wrote: “Perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynching, arbitrary bulldosing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens.

“The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is importantly [sic] but optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy,” Mahmudabad noted. “The grassroots reality that common Muslims face is different from what the government tried to show but at the same time the press conference shows that an India, united in its diversity, is not completely dead as an idea,” he added.

The Haryana State Commission for Women had summoned the professor for what it claimed was a disparaging remark against women officers and an attempt to incite communal discord.

Defending his post on X, Mahmudabad said his comments were misconstrued and that his intention was to call for the protection of both soldiers and civilians. He rejected allegations of misogyny, calling the accusations baseless.

In February last year, Amnesty International urged the Indian government to stop “unjust targeted demolition of Muslim properties”.

“The unlawful demolition of Muslim properties by the Indian authorities, peddled as ‘bulldozer justice’ by political leaders and media, is cruel and appalling. Such displacement and dispossession is deeply unjust, unlawful and discriminatory. They are destroying families – and must stop immediately,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary-general.

“The authorities have repeatedly undermined the rule of law, destroying homes, businesses or places of worship, through targeted campaigns of hate, harassment, violence and the weaponization of JCB bulldozers. These human rights abuses must be urgently addressed,” she said.

Separately, travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra along with five others from Punjab and Haryana were also arrested over alleged espionage for Pakistan, according to Indian media.

Far-right Hindus in India were involved in lynching Muslims and tried to police interfaith relations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken against cow vigilante killings, but his government has done little to stop the activities of vigilante groups.