Ashoka University assistant professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who was arrested in Delhi after the Haryana State Commission for Women issued a notice regarding his social media comments about Operation Sindoor, is a renowned author, political scientist, Samajwadi Party leader, and the prince of the Mahmudabad Kingdom of Lucknow. His contributions include the ongoing digitisation of Arabic, Urdu, and Persian manuscripts collected and stored in his palace through centuries. Mahmudabad was one of the largest Taluqdaris under the Mughal rule, and the House of Mahmudabad traces its lineage to the Banu Taim – the tribe of the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr.
Haryana State Commission for Women, in their notice, alleged that he dishonoured the women officers who briefed the media about Operation Sindoor and that he tried to create communal disharmony. The arrest was based on a BJP leader’s complaint and the issuance of the notice by the commission. Ali Khan Mahmudabad has vehemently denied the allegations, explaining that his social media post was misinterpreted and that the action against him is a new kind of censorship. Leaders, intellectuals, and people from different walks of life have come out voicing support for him.
The AIDEM covered his extensive work on the digitisation of centuries-old, 2000-odd Arabic, Urdu, and Persian manuscripts when we visited the Mahmudabad Palace in 2022. We reproduce the video we created on his digitisation work as a token of our solidarity with this discerning intellectual, who has contributed to our nation-building and whose family played a significant role in our freedom struggle.
Watch the full video below:
