Video: Is Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s peace appeal seditious?

On Sunday, Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad was arrested by Haryana Police for his social media posts commenting on the press briefings on Operation Sindoor, Operation Sindoor. He was given interim bail on Wednesday.

Mahmudabad had commended the military for the manner in which it conducted the operation and called for peace.

He also pointed to the apparent irony of Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had represented the Army during the media briefings, suggesting that they “could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens”.

But two cases were soon filed against him on a variety of charges, including having committed acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, making assertions likely to cause disharmony, acts endangering national sovereignty and words or gestures intended to insult a woman’s modesty.

These charges, conclude the panel on this episode of Yeh Daag Daag Ujala, are absurd. The discussion explores the broader implications of Mahmudabad’s arrest after his posts calling for peace and harmony for academic freedom, civil liberties, and the treatment of...

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