SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday ordered a ban on 25 books, including works by globally renowned authors such as AG Noorani, Arundhati Roy, Ayesha Jalal, and Sumantra Bose. The decision came just days after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Chinar Book Festival in Srinagar, calling for a “correction of historical narratives” and urging writers to help young minds reconnect with India’s civilisational heritage.
The order, issued by the Home Department and signed by Principal Secretary Chandraker Bharti, declared the books “forfeited” under Section 98 of the newly enacted Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The administration said the listed publications had been found to promote “false narratives, glorify terrorism, incite secessionism and radicalise youth.”
According to the official notification, “credible intelligence and investigations” suggest that these books played a “critical role” in “misguiding youth, glorifying terrorism, vilifying security forces and distorting historical facts,” which the government claims has contributed to alienation and violent extremism in the region.
The books banned include Human Rights Violations in Kashmir by Piotr Balcerowicz, and Agnieszka Kuszewska; Azadi by Arundhati Roy; Kashmir’s Fight for Freedom by Mohd Yousuf Saraf; Colonising Kashmir: State Building Under Indian Occupation by Hafsa Kanjwal; Kashmir Politics and Plebiscite by Dr Abdul Jabbar Gockhami; Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? By Essar Batool and others; Mujahid ki Azaan by Imam Hasan Al-Bana Shaheed; Al Jihadul fil Islam by Moulana Moudadi; Independent Kashmir by Christopher Snedden; Resisting Occupation in Kashmir by Haley Duschinski, Mona Bhan, Ather Zia, and Cynthia Mahmood; Between Democracy and Nation by Seema Kazi; Contested Lands by Sumantra Bose; In Search of a Future by David Devadas; Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield; The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012 by A G Noorani; Kashmir at the Cross Roads by Sumantra Bose; A Dismantled State by Anuradha Bhasin; Resisting Disappearance by Ather Zia; Confronting Terrorism by Stephen Pcohen; Freedom in Captivity by Radhika Gupta; Kashmir: The Case for Freedom by Arundhati Roy, Hilal Bhat, Angana Chatterji, Pankaj Mishra, and Tariq Ali; USA and Kashmir by Dr Shamshad Shan; Law and Conflict Resolution in Kashmir by Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska; Freedom Captivity by Radhika Gupta; Tarikh-i-Siyasat by Dr Afaq; Kashmir and Future of South Asia, edited by Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal.
Prominent publishers, including Penguin, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Zubaan Books, and Stanford University Press, have titles featured in the list. The government has directed that the circulation of these books be ceased immediately, citing the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Sections 152, 196, and 197, which deal with acts endangering national integrity. -(KL)
