(NEW YORK)– The arrest and detention in India of a university professor over social media posts is part of a wider trend of the government’s crackdown on writers—including authors, academics, online commentators, and journalists—who are critical of the country’s military campaign against Pakistan in the wake of an April 22 terrorist attack in the disputed territory of Kashmir, the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center said today.
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor and head of the political science department at Ashoka University as well as a distinguished scholar, literary writer, columnist, and online commentator, is facing a possible sentence of three years to life for social media posts—one that warned against allowing the war to be used as an excuse for discrimination, and another criticizing people with a “blind bloodlust for war.”
After formal complaints were made against him under multiple sections of the Indian criminal code, he was arrested and charged with “endangering sovereignty, unity, and integrity in India” among others. He was then held in detention for several days before being granted interim bail ahead of his next hearing—set for May 27.
“The arrest and detention of Ali Khan Mahmudabad is a shocking affront to free expression and represents an escalation of authorities’ tactics used to chill dissenting speech,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, PEN America’s Director of Writers at Risk. “The fact that an esteemed scholar could be facing life in prison for social media posts is an incredibly troubling sign of the future for writers and free speech in India.”
Despite being ordered released on interim bail on May 21 by the Supreme Court, Mahmudabad is living under ongoing restrictions of his expression—including not being able to post any writing online.
India must drop all charges against Mahmudabad and ensure his unconditional release, the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center said. “Scholars who pen dissenting views must not be subject to arrest or political pressure. The Indian government has a responsibility to end its continued violations against academic freedom and free speech, and to uphold India’s constitutionally recognized protections for free expression,” added Dr. Karlekar.
India’s current government has a long track record of suppressing writers, and from 2019-2022 was among the Top 10 jailers of writers globally, according to PEN America’s annual Freedom to Write Index. Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy has been facing wide-ranging charges for more than a decade over her writing, and in 2021 two professors from the same university as Mahmudabad resigned under apparent political pressure. More about PEN America’s work on India can be found here.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.