Ali Khan Mahmudabad

Ali Khan Mahmudabad, (born 2 December 1982), is an Indian historian, political scientist, writer, columnist, occasional poet and assistant professor of both history and political science at Ashoka University, India.[1] He is the grandson of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, last Raja of Mahmudabad, long-time treasurer and major financier of the Muslim League in the years leading up to the partition of India.

Ali Khan Mahmudabad
علی خان محمودآباد
Mahmudabad at John Strachey Hall
Personal details
Born (1982-12-02) 2 December 1982
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
MotherRani Vijay
FatherRaja Sulaiman Khan
EducationLa Martiniere College, Lucknow, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, University of Damascus, Syria, Cambridge University, England, UK
OccupationHistorian, poet, columnist
Websitealimahmudabad.com
Ali Khan Mahmudabad in his library

Background and early life

He is the elder son of Raja Sulaiman, present Raja of Mahmudabad, by his wife Rani Vijay, a Hindu woman by birth. His father is the only son of Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan, last Raja of Mahmudabad, long-time treasurer and major financier of the Muslim League in the years leading up to the partition of India. His mother is a sister of Ashok Mehta, a retired corporate executive and columnist who worked with Shell Oil for many years and now works for the Brookings Institution, India.

Ali grew up in Mahmudabad, India. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College where he graduated with a double major in history and political science in the year 2006. Following this he studied advanced level Arabic from the University of Damascus. By 2010, he had earned an MPhil in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge (Girton College, Cambridge), and by 2014, he also secured his PhD in history from Cambridge. His dissertation was on "Rhetorics and Spaces of Belonging among North Indian Muslims, 1850- 1950" under supervision of Professor Sir Christopher Bayly and Professor Javed Majeed.

Education

Ali did his schooling up until the 5th grade from La Martiniere Lucknow, following which he went to England to study at King's College School till 1996. He graduated school from Winchester College in the year 2001 and began his university studies at Amherst College, where he played for the Varsity Squash Team. He graduated from Amherst, with a thesis on 'Iran and the evolution of Velayat-e-faqih Islamic Jurisprudence'. In college he also used to play the saxophone besides writing poetry.

His PhD at Cambridge focused on the formation of Muslim political identity in North India between 1850–1950. In particular the thesis presented a history of the public space of poetry (the Mushaira) and a genealogy of the idea of homeland (watan) over these hundred years. Some of the other subjects relevant to his thesis are ideas of citizenship, patriotism, global Muslim identities and their relevance in the articulation and configuration of Muslim ideas of selfhood. Although he explores these primarily in the context of South Asia, most of these ideas are increasingly relevant in all parts of the Muslim world and a prominent part of debates around political reforms and public policy.

Before his PhD, he secured his MPhil, also from Cambridge. He wrote a thesis on trans-national Shi‘a Muslim networks in the early 20th century between South Asia and the Middle East which got published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society[2] and became a part of the book: The Shi‘a in Modern South Asian.[3]

Prior to going to Cambridge, Ali studied Arabic at the University of Damascus in Syria. In addition to attending classes at the university, he wrote extensively about Syria for various print and online newspapers and magazines and also travelled widely not only in Syria but also in Lebanon, Egypt and Yemen. Since then he has undertaken research and travelled more extensively in the wider region and has spent substantial time in Iran and Iraq amongst other places.[1] His travels have led to him writing for publications such as the National Geographic (magazine).

Career

Writing under the pen name of Ali Khan Mahmudabad, he has a column in Urdu for the national daily The Inquilab in India. He also writes regularly for a number of online and print publications, including the Caravan Magazine,[4] The Indian Express,[5] Times of India,[6] The Outlook Magazine,[7] Hindustan Times, Business Standard,[8] Daily News and Analysis,[9] Tehelka magazine[10] and The Sunday Guardian in India. He also writes for a number of publications from other parts of the world like The Guardian,[11] The Straits Times,[12] Huffington Post,[13] and OpenDemocracy. His writings focus on political, social, economic and security issues amongst others in South Asia and the Middle East.

He also spends time lecturing in schools, colleges and universities as well as advising policy think-tanks on a wide range of subjects including political, religious and security related issues in South Asia as well as greater West Asia (the Middle East). In 2010, he received the Evan Carroll Commager Fellowship from Amherst College. He is fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu, Awadhi, Arabic, Persian and French. In 2017, he joined the Samajwadi Party.

Works

Besides being a columnist for Sahāfat (Urdu newspaper)[14] and Aalami Samay (Urdu magazine), Ali has also contributed to the following books:

  • A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis of Awadh: "Reliving a Sacrifice" [15]
  • Lucknow: a city between cultures: "Lucknow: a binding legacy"[16]
  • The Shi‘a in Modern South Asian: "Local nodes of a trans-national network: a case study of a Shi‘i family in Awadh 1900- 1950"[3]
  • Poetry of Belonging: Muslim Imaginings of India 1850–1950[17]
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References
  1. University, Ashoka. "Faculty/Staff | Ashoka University". ashoka.edu.in. Ashoka University. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  2. Khan, M. A. A. (May 2014). ""Local nodes of a trans-national network: a case study of a Shi'i family in Awadh 1900- 1950"". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
  3. Khan, M. A. A. (January 2015). "Local nodes of a trans-national network: a case study of a Shi'i family in Awadh 1900- 1950". The Shi‘a in Modern South Asian. London: Cambridge University Press.
  4. "Profile, Ali Khan Mahmudabad". The Caravan Magazine.
  5. "Ali Khan Mahmudabad". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  6. "Ali Khan Mahmudabad Blog - Times of India Blog". Times of India Blog. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  7. "outlookindia.com - more than just the news magazine from India". outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  8. Standard, Business. "Author - Ali Khan Mahmudabad | Business Standard". www.business-standard.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  9. "Ali Khan Mahmudabad". dna. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  10. "Ali Khan Mahmudabad | Tehelka - Investigations, Latest News, Politics, Analysis, Blogs, Culture, Photos, Videos, Podcasts". tehelka.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  11. "Ali Khan Mahmudabad". theguardian.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  12. hermes (11 December 2015). "ISIS' dream of becoming a country". The Straits Times. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  13. "Ali Khan Mahmudabad". Huffington Post India. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  14. "The Sahafat URDU Daily - India, Indian Newspapers, Urdu Newspaper India". www.sahafat.in. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  15. Khan, M. A. A. (2013). A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis of Awadh. New Delhi: Bloomsbury.
  16. Khan, M. A. A. (2012). Lucknow: a city between cultures. New Delhi: Academic Press.
  17. https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/reviews-recommendations/oxford-university-press-launches-poetry-of-belonging-muslim-imaginings-of-india-18501950
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