Haryana women commission warns of FIR against Ashoka prof if he skips summons over Op Sindoor post again

Ali Khan Mahmudabad was summoned by Haryana State Commission for Women over his remarks which 'disparaged women officers in Indian armed forces, promoted communal disharmony'.

File photo of Haryana State Commission for Women chairperson Renu Bhatia | X

Gurugram: Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) chairperson Renu Bhatia has warned an associate professor of Ashoka University that an FIR would be lodged against him if he fails to appear before the panel on 23 May.

Ali Khan Mahmudabad, head of the Department of Political Science, was earlier summoned by the HSCW that took suo motu cognisance of his remarks which “disparaged women officers in the Indian armed forces and promoted communal disharmony”.

On Wednesday, Mahmudabad had told ThePrint that the summons to appear before the panel on 12 May were based on a “gross misunderstanding and taken out of context”.

Bhatia, meanwhile, visited the private university Thursday in Sonipat. After meeting university officials, the women’s panel chief told the media that she was informed that Mahmudabad was currently on leave. She criticised the university for “shielding” Mahmudabad, claiming that it deliberately sent him on leave, a charge the university has denied.

“I have given the professor another opportunity to appear before the Commission on 23 May in Panchkula, warning that failure to comply will result in the Commission lodging an FIR against him,” Bhatia told The Print over phone.

She said it was a standard operating procedure (SOP) to lodge an FIR if the person sent summons avoids appearing before it willfully.

The Commission had taken note of Mahmudabad’s statements on social media made in the context of Operation Sindoor. The assistant professor’s comments, particularly a Facebook post, drew the ire of the women’s panel.

“I am very happy to see so many right-wing commentators applauding Colonel Sofiya Qureshi but perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens,” he posted.

Mahmudabad described the press briefings as “optics” that must translate to grassroots reality, warning that otherwise, it’s “just hypocrisy.”

The HSCW interpreted these remarks as undermining the women officers’ contributions and vilifying national military actions.

The notice listed several concerns: disparagement of women in uniform, misrepresentation of facts through terms like “genocide” and “dehumanisation,” vilification of military actions, potential incitement of communal unrest, violation of women’s dignity under the Constitution and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and breach of University Grants Commission (UGC) ethical conduct regulations.

In a detailed response to The Print, Mahmudabad described the summons as “a form of censorship and harassment” that “inverts the meaning of my words.”

“My posts celebrated the Indian armed forces’ choice of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh for the Operation Sindoor press conference, a powerful symbol of India’s unity in diversity,” he said.

The assistant professor clarified that he applauded Right-wing supporters of Col Qureshi, urging them to extend similar respect to Indian Muslims facing demonisation. “My comments were a call for communal harmony and safeguarding lives, rooted in equality,” he added, emphasizing his consistent praise for the armed forces’ measured approach in Operation Sindoor, which avoided civilian or military targets to prevent escalation.

“I have full faith in the legal process, with my lawyers having robustly represented me before the Commission on 14 May,” he said, reserving the right to pursue legal action against defamatory claims.

Ashoka University has distanced itself from Mahmudabad’s remarks in an official statement, saying that the comments made on personal social media pages do not represent its opinion.

“These statements have been made by him independently in his individual capacity. 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. We stand in solidarity with the nation and our forces,” it said.

(Edited by Tony Rai)