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Srinagar: Authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have launched a sweeping audit of books at schools, colleges and public libraries to remove material questioning India\u2019s claim over the territory, Al Jazeera reported.<\/p>\n
Kashmir Media Service, citing the Al Jazeera report, said a government order issued on July 9 directed all educational institutions to vet books, journals, dissertations, doctoral theses and digital resources.<\/p>\n
Educational institutions have been directed to scrutinize books, journals, research papers, dissertations and digital resources for content deemed “objectionable”, including material that authorities claim promotes separatism, extremism or challenges India’s sovereignty. The authorities have also ordered an inquiry into how such publications reached public and educational libraries.<\/p>\n
The inquiry, initially limited to school libraries, was later expanded to include research publications and digital content at universities. Officials have also ordered an investigation into how books with \u201cseditious content\u201d entered public libraries and institutions.<\/p>\n
The latest crackdown began earlier this month after BJP leader Sunil Sharma demanded a ban on Personalities and Legends of J&K by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena. Authorities objected to entries on Kashmiri freedom figures including Maqbool Butt, described in the book as a \u201cmartyr\u201d and hanged in 1984, Masrat Alam Butt, and Syed Ali Gilani, who was quoted as calling Kashmir a \u201cdisputed region awaiting political resolution under the aegis of the United Nations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another book, Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir by Sushant Giri, was also distributed to libraries under a government-funded programme. Sharma called the presence of such books \u201cacademic jihad\u201d and accused them of trying to \u201cpoison the minds of young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indian Police subsequently raided publishers and arrested three people, charging them with \u201cendangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity\u201d of India.<\/p>\n
The audit has created anxiety among Kashmiri residents. A senior Kashmiri journalist told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity that \u201cwriting or even reading about the region\u2019s past suddenly becomes fraught with risk.\u201d A Srinagar bookseller said shop owners were unsure \u201cwhat will be considered antinational and what is in the national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year authorities banned 25 books, including works by AG Noorani, Sumantra Bose and Arundhati Roy, and raided bookshops to remove them. Police also confiscated 668 books written by Abul A\u2019la Maududi.<\/p>\n
Authors and experts criticised the audit. Writer Anuradha Bhasin called it \u201can exercise in intimidation\u201d to criminalise reading, saying \u201cbooks are not bombs.\u201d Political scientist Sumantra Bose, whose two books were among those banned last year, termed the orders \u201cabsurd.\u201d Kashmiri anthropologist Mohamad Junaid described the audit as \u201cmemoricide,\u201d saying it was \u201ca deliberate attempt to alter facts about the past and forcibly change people\u2019s perception of their own lived experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2019, when New Delhi revoked Kashmir\u2019s special status and brought it under direct Delhi\u2019s control, rights groups have reported increased curbs on academia, media and political expression in the territory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Srinagar: Authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir have launched a sweeping audit of books at schools, colleges and public libraries to remove material questioning India\u2019s claim over the territory, Al Jazeera reported. Kashmir Media Service, citing the Al Jazeera report, said a government order issued on July 9 directed all educational institutions to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":205690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-205689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-occupied-jammu-and-kashmir","tag-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t