Operation intolerance: Varsity professor held for raising objections at Op Sindoor
THE arrest of Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor at Ashoka University, over a social media post questioning certain aspects of Operation Sindoor is a troubling reminder of how dissent is increasingly being treated as sedition in today’s India. The Haryana police’s actions, reportedly based on charges such as “endangering India’s unity”, mark a new low in the criminalisation of thought and free expression. Professor Mahmudabad is not a fringe voice. He is a respected academic and public intellectual, known for thoughtful engagement with India’s social and political fabric. To equate his commentary — however critical — with a threat to national unity is not only an overreach, but also a dangerous precedent that undermines democracy. Universities are supposed to be sanctuaries for debate, not extensions of the state’s surveillance machinery.
Even more disturbing is the timing and context. Operation Sindoor, a military campaign that already enjoys extensive public support and media coverage, ought to withstand critical scrutiny in a mature democracy. Instead, the state has responded with heavy-handedness — sending a chilling message to anyone who dares to question the dominant narrative. Academic freedom and freedom of speech are not privileges granted at the pleasure of the ruling dispensation, they are constitutional guarantees.
That the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Professor Mahmudabad’s plea offers a sliver of hope. But legal relief after public humiliation is a poor substitute for the preventive restraint expected of law enforcement agencies. It is high time that our institutions stopped equating patriotism with blind obedience. True patriotism lies in the ability to question, reflect and even dissent — without the fear of being thrown behind bars. The arrest of a professor for a social media post does not protect national security; it only exposes national insecurity.
