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The directive came from the Jammu and Kashmir administration, which is directly appointed by New Delhi. It mandates a full review of all books, journals, supplementary reading material, reference works, periodicals and other educational resources available in libraries or learning resource centers.

According to the order, “No publication containing objectionable, inflammatory or inappropriate content, including any material promoting or glorifying extremism, violence, secessionism, anti-national ideology or otherwise prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the Union of India, shall be procured, recommended, retained, circulated or otherwise made available in the libraries or academic premises of the institutions.”

The region-wide audit was triggered by objections from members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the content of two books distributed to more than 250 schools. These led to the suspension of eight officials and blacklisting of publishers, as reported by Middle East Eye ^[1] and the BBC ^[2].

Background of the Triggered Books and Official Response

The books at the center of the controversy are “Personalities and Legends of Jammu and Kashmir,” written by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena and published by Oberoi Book Service, and “Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir,” written by Dr. Sushant Giri and published by Anurag Prakashan, New Delhi. They were distributed to schools under the government-funded Samagra Shiksha scheme.

BJP opposition leader Sunil Sharma said the texts used terminology such as “Indian-occupied Kashmir” and labeled their presence in school libraries “a direct challenge to India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” He branded their inclusion an act of “academic jihad” aimed at indoctrinating young minds, according to Middle East Eye ^[1].

The region’s administrative head, Manoj Sinha, suspended eight officials of the School Education Department and ordered a formal investigation. Both publishers have since been blacklisted, with orders to withdraw any previously published material.

The outrage stemmed from entries in the 240-page book “Personalities and Legends of Jammu and Kashmir” that profiled writers like Salman Rushdie and Hari Kunzru alongside pro-freedom leaders. The book referred to Maqbool Bhat, founder of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front who was hanged by the Indian Supreme Court, as a “Shaheed” (martyr), and quoted late resistance leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani describing Kashmir as a “disputed region awaiting political resolution under the United Nations.” The contents of the second audited book were not immediately available, the BBC reported ^[2].

Scholars Criticize Audit as Continued Censorship

Kashmiri scholars have characterized the audit as the latest iteration of state-enforced ideological boundaries.

Dr. Ather Zia, professor of anthropology and gender studies at the University of Northern Colorado, told Middle East Eye: “To me, the removal of so-called ‘objectionable material’ is not a new thing but part of a continuity in the long history of censorship and suppressing critical thinking and scholarship in Kashmir. It is meant to reinforce the systemic erasure of grounded knowledges and histories of people.” She added that “democratic engagement in Kashmir” was “a true illusion” and that the system “demands extreme compliance of thought and deed to survive, and has normalized repression” ^[1].

Dean Accardi, a historian at Connecticut College, told Middle East Eye that government censorship “almost always occurs when those in power fear public opposition to their policies or regime altogether. Rather than addressing the sources of the people’s discontent, censorship aims to decrease public knowledge of facts on such matters as well as open public debate, replacing these core constituents of any true, open democracy with propaganda and punishment in the name of ‘security.'”

Goldie Osuri, a sociologist and scholar of critical Kashmir studies at the University of Warwick, said the ban on 25 books last year signals “an ongoing war against any academic material” that might differ from the Indian state’s narratives. “In essence, this is a war against academic freedom. If academic work can only serve ‘national’ interest, then it cannot be called academic work. And schools and universities cannot be understood any more as genuine places of learning,” she stated ^[1].

The history of censorship in India, including earlier state actions against books, is documented in works such as Kenneth Baker’s “On the burning of books,” which recounts official protests against literature deemed offensive ^[3], and Arundhati Roy’s “My Seditious Heart,” which examines state repression and the silencing of dissent ^[4].

Broader Context of Censorship Since 2019

Since the BJP-led government abrogated Article 370 in August 2019, Indian authorities have steadily regulated literature and thought in Kashmir. In August 2025, authorities banned 25 books, declaring them “forfeited” to the state under India’s criminal law. The targeted titles included foundational political texts like A.G. Noorani’s “The Kashmir Dispute” and Victoria Schofield’s “Kashmir in Conflict,” as well as Roy’s essay collection “Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction”.

Police also raided bookstores, walking in with printed lists of titles, clearing shops of customers and seizing copies of blacklisted books off the shelves. In February 2025, Islamic literature was confiscated from bookshops and homes across the valley, according to Middle East Eye ^[1].

India has also gained a reputation as a world leader in internet shutdowns, used to establish political control over populations – exceeding other authoritarian governments like Russia, Sudan, Iran, Myanmar and Ethiopia, according to a NaturalNews.com report ^[5]. The fear of the audit is already felt inside homes across Kashmir, where residents are destroying private archives.

“Some of these were part of my late father’s collection,” a government employee named Nafees told Middle East Eye. “I didn’t want to give them away, but as a government worker, I couldn’t risk keeping them. Fear has taken over. You never know what excuse the authorities might find to trouble you” ^[1].

Conclusion: Impact on Academic Freedom

Pro-freedom leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq posted on X that banning books “will not erase historical facts and the repertoire of lived memories of people of Kashmir,” according to Middle East Eye ^[1]. The audit is viewed by scholars as the latest manifestation of state-imposed ideological boundaries, reinforcing systemic suppression of dissenting voices in Kashmir.

As India continues to tighten control over publishing, libraries and academic institutions in the region, critics argue that the crackdown represents not a defense of sovereignty – but an assault on the intellectual freedom that any healthy society requires to examine difficult histories and multiple perspectives openly.

References

1. MEE contributor. “‘Erasing historical facts’: India orders massive crackdown on books in Kashmir’s libraries.” Middle East Eye. July 27, 2026.
2. BBC News. “Crackdown on ‘objectionable’ books in Indian-administered Kashmir sparks row.” BBC. July 15, 2026.
3. Kenneth Baker. “On the burning of books.”
4. Arundhati Roy. “My Seditious Heart.”
5. NaturalNews.com. “India using INTERNET SHUTDOWNS for political control.” NaturalNews.com. October 25, 2023.

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