J&K Govt bans 25 books for ‘spreading secessionist narrative, glorifying terrorism’

Srinagar, Aug 6: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered publication of 25 books, their copies and other documents be forfeited, citing that such literature propagates false narrative and secessionism in J&K.

As per the public notification issued by the Principal Secretary J&K Home Department Chandraker Bharti, the decision has been taken following the orders of the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

The government said the available evidence based on investigations and credible intelligence unflinchingly indicate that a significant driver behind youth participation in violence and terrorism has been the systematic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature by its persistent internal circulation.

“This literature is often disguised as historical or political commentary, while playing a critical role in misguiding the youth, glorifying terrorism and inciting violence against the Indian State,” the notification reads.

It reads that this literature would deeply impact the psyche of youth by promoting culture of grievance, victim hood and terrorist heroism.

“Some of the means by which this literature has contributed to the radicalization of youth in J&K include distortion of historical facts, glorification of terrorists, vilification of security forces, religious radicalization, promotion of alienation, pathway to violence and terrorism,” the notification reads.

The government has 25 books that “propagate false narrative and secessionism” in J&K and need to be declared as “forfeited” in terms of Section 98 of Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.

“The identified 25 books have been found to excite secessionism and endangering sovereignty and integrity of India, thereby, attracting the provisions of sections 152, 196 & 197 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023,” it reads.

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 98 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has declared publication of 25 books and their copies or other documents to be forfeited to the government.

The books which have been banned Human Rights Violation in Kashmir authored by Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska, Kashmir’s Fight for Freedom by Mohd Yousuf Saraf, Colonizing 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.

The other books banned by government include Mujahid ki Azaan by Imam Hasan AI-Bana Shaheed, AI Jihadul fil Islam by Moulana Moudadi, Independent Kashmir by Christopher Snedden, Resisting Occupation Kashmir by Haley Duschinski, Mona Bhat, Ather Zia Cynthia Mahmood, Between Democracy and Nation (Gender and Militarization in Kashmir) by Seema Kazi, Contested Lands by Sumantra Bose, In Search of Future (The Story of Kashmir) by David Devadas, Kashmir In Conflict (India, Pakistan and the unending War) by Victoria Schofield, The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012 by A G Noorani, Kashmir at the Cross Roads (Inside a 21st century Conflict) by Sumantra Bose, A dismantled State (The untold story of Kashmir after Article 370) by Anuradha Bhasin, Resisting Disappearances (Military Occupation and Women’s Activism in Kashmir) by Ather Zia, Confronting Terrorism by Stephen Pcohen, Freedom Captivity (Negotiations of belonging along Kashmir Frontier) by Radhika Gupta.

The other banned books include Kashmir (The Case for Freedom) by Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhatt, Angana P. Chatterji, Pankaj Mishra and Arundhati Roy, Azadi by Arundhati Roy, USA and Kashmir by Dr. Shamshad Shan, Law and Conflict Resolution in Kashmir by Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewka, Tarikh-i-Siyasat Kashmir by Dr. Afaq and Kashmir & the future of South Asia (edited by: Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal)