Ashoka University professor's arrest: Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s family's connection with Muslim League

Professor Mahmudabad was taken into custody after two FIRs were filed over a social media post he made regarding Operation Sindoor.

Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor of Political Science with the Ashoka University, was recently arrested by the Haryana Police for his social media posts in connection with Operation Sindoor.

He belongs to a prominent political family having royal lineage and connection with Muslim League.

Ali described the media briefings by Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh as "optics". "But optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it's just hypocrisy," he had said.

On May 7, the Indian armed forces conducted strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan and PoK, following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

Ali was taken into custody based on a complaint filed by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha in Haryana.

He has been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for inciting rebellion, disrupting communal harmony and insulting religious sentiment, according to reports.

Ali, who currently serves as Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was born on December 2, 1982. His schooling in Lucknow, Ali went to England to study at King’s College School. He graduated from Winchester College in 2001 and subsequently earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Mahmudabad was a national spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party from 2019 to 2022. He was also considered among the closest associates of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav . Since 2022, Mahmudabad has not held any official post in the party.

Ali is married to the daughter of Haseeb Drabu, former Jammu and Kashmir finance minister.

Ali is the son of Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan—also known as Raja Saheb Mahmudabad. Ali’s father fought a decades-long legal battle over properties seized under the Enemy Properties Act. On October 22, 2005, the Supreme Court passed a judgment through which properties spread across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were restored to the erstwhile Raja of Mahmudabad.

According to Indian Express, his properties include several huge pieces of land in the heart of Lucknow, including the iconic Butler palace, a large section of Hazratganj market, Halwasiya market, Mahmudabad Qila–all worth several thousand crore rupees. The properties of the Mahmudabad family are reportedly spread in Lucknow, Sitapur, and Uttarakhand’s Nainital.

Ali's mother, Rani Vijay is the daughter of Padma Bhushan Jagat Singh Mehta, who served as India’s Foreign Secretary from 1976-79, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the External Affairs Minister.

Ali’s grandfather was reportedly a close associate of Mohammed Ali Jinnah. He was a long-time treasurer and a major financier of the Muslim League in the years leading up to the partition of India, according to reports.  On December 30 in 1906, the All India Muslim League, best known for securing India’s partition into two nations, was founded.

The Raja of Mahmoodabad became a Pakistani citizen in 1957. His wife and son chose not to go to Pakistan, but the large property left was seized by the government in 1965 due to the India-Pakistan war and could not be rightfully theirs till the 2005 judgment.