Sanjeev Bhikchandani, Co-founder of the university, expressed his growing frustration with running the institution amid mounting controversy surrounding the arrest of Ashoka University’s Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad over his commentary on Operation Sindoor.
Bhikchandani described the university as “too much of a headache”, adding that, along with fellow Co-founders Pramath Raj Sinha and Ashish Dhawan, he was considering stepping down from his duties, in an internal mail that has been disclosed.
"Pramath, Ashish, and I have seriously discussed the option of walking away. Ashoka is too much of a headache. Is it worth the effort?" he stated, according to a report by Moneycontrol.
In the same email, he stated that Ashoka University was not obliged to defend its’ professors’ “personal political views.”
“Ashoka is not obliged to support you for political opinions you express in your personal capacity. You did not seek Ashoka’s consent before posting on social media; you cannot now present Ashoka with a fait accompli and expect support," wrote Bikhchandani.
These statements were made in response to an alumnus of the liberal arts university in Sonepat, Haryana, who emailed the founder over the varsity’s alleged silence over Prof Mahmudabad’s arrest and lack of support for him.
To recall, Prof Mahmudabad, who was the head of Ashoka’s Department of Political Science, was arrested on May 18, for a Facebook post on Operation Sindoor — particularly about the involvement of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi in the press briefings of the operation.
He lauded the outcomes of India’s precision strikes but raised concerns about the “symbolism and optics” of having Colonel Sofiya Qureshi — a Muslim woman in the Indian Army — be a spokesperson for the Operation in official press briefings, while Muslims and other minorities are marginalised.
His post led to complaints from the Haryana Women’s Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) youth wing, resulting in two FIRs under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against him, and subsequently, his arrest.
While the Supreme Court of India granted Prof Mahmudabad interim bail on May 21, it refused to stay the ongoing investigation. The bench further restricted him from commenting publicly on the case.
