Rewriting History, Replacing Literature: Institutionalizing Saffronized Discourse in IIOJK as the Emerging Norm

The Kashmir conflict constitutes an unresolved vestige of the partition plan, wherein India persistently endeavors to obfuscate its contentious nature. To this end, the apartheid Modi regime, bolstered by Hindutva ideology, is perpetuating neo-settler colonialism, exacerbating atrocities, and employing duplicitous tactics, including the imposition of an intellectual siege through the propagation of saffronized literature and the proscription of Islamic and impartial scholarly writings, thereby orchestrating a comprehensive assault on Kashmiri identity and their legitimate aspirations.

This project of erasure is being operationalized through neo-settler colonial strategies designed to fundamentally alter the region’s demographic, cultural, and historical landscape. These strategies encompass a wide range of coercive and violent measures, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, illegal land expropriations, and the suppression of religious freedoms. Moreover, there is a deliberate effort to manipulate cultural and intellectual life by rewriting historical narratives, displacing indigenous literature, and promoting state-sponsored, saffronized literary and ideological discourses.

In this context, the developments of this year starkly underscore the systematic suppression of Islamic literature. In February alone, authorities confiscated over 650 Islamic books in a sweeping crackdown, with the majority of titles authored by Abul A’la Maududi—a prominent 20th-century Islamic scholar and the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, an organization currently banned in Kashmir. Most of these books were published by Markazi Maktaba Islami Publishers, based in New Delhi, which is affiliated with the Indian branch of Jamaat-e-Islami—one of the largest religious and political organizations in the Indian subcontinent. The seizure of these publications has been widely condemned as “unjust, unconstitutional, and a violation of fundamental rights.”

The ongoing suppression of Islamic literature in occupied Kashmir appears to function as a mechanism of neo-settler colonialism, aimed at facilitating the entrenchment of permanent occupation while advancing saffronized ideological narratives. This cultural and intellectual repression is exemplified by the recent banning of approximately 25 books by Indian authorities—an action seemingly intended to stifle expressions of self-determination and obscure the socio-political realities on the ground.

The Indian occupational regime in IIOJK has proscribed 25 books, including a work by Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy, citing concerns that these titles “promote secessionism” in the disputed, Muslim-majority region. Among the banned works are publications by leading academics and public intellectuals, including one of India’s foremost constitutional experts, A.G. Noorani, and political scientist Sumantra Bose of the London School of Economics. In addition, Roy’s book Azadi, which comprises essays on the thousands allegedly killed and disappeared in Kashmir by Indian forces over recent decades, and Independent Kashmir by Australian political scientist Christopher Snedden, which explores the Kashmiri struggle for independence, were also among the proscribed titles. This move has engendered serious concerns regarding the suppression of intellectual freedom and dissent in the region.

Chief cleric and senior APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq stated that the ban “only exposes the insecurities and limited understanding of those behind such authoritarian actions.” Furthermore, Kashmiri politician and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti remarked that banning books “cannot erase history.”

The 25 books banned by the government offer a comprehensive overview of the events surrounding the Partition of India and elucidate the reasons why Kashmir became such an intractable territorial dispute from the outset.

In order to manipulate the youth and obscure the reality of India’s illegal occupation, the Hindutva regime is actively employing and advancing these tactics.

The ban was announced on the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5, 2019 — a symbolic timing that authors and analysts say reflects New Delhi’s intensified campaign to erase alternative narratives since the constitutional change.

The recent ban on books documenting the pain and struggle of Kashmiris is a desperate attempt by the Modi regime to suppress the truth and stifle dissent. This authoritarian move exposes the government’s growing intolerance toward narratives that challenge its version of events.

A day after the administration of IIOJK ordered the forfeiture of 25 such books, Indian police launched a sweeping, valley-wide search of bookstores to enforce compliance with the ban—further intensifying the crackdown on freedom of expression in the region.

Kashmiris continue their legitimate struggle for their internationally recognized right to self-determination and an end to India’s illegal occupation. Yet, rather than acknowledging these undeniable ground realities, the Modi regime chooses to escalate repression, silence voices, and censor any documentation of the suffering endured by the Kashmiri people.

The prohibition of literature that sheds light on the ongoing repression in Kashmir is not only an assault on intellectual freedom but also a clear reflection of India’s persistent denial of truth in the occupied territory.

In conclusion, it can be asserted that the systematic assault on innocent Kashmiris has now extended beyond physical repression to intellectual domination—through the manipulation of literature, the rewriting of history, and the propagation of saffronized narratives. Such practices have regrettably become the new normal under the current regime.

(Soma Aslam, Bachelor’s in International Relations from the UAJ&K, and a former intern at the KIIR)