The Jammu and Kashmir government has banned 25 books, saying they promote false narratives, glorify terrorism, and incite secessionism in the Union Territory. In an official notification, the Home Department said that these books were found to be dangerous for national security and public peace.
The government took action under Section 98 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and also mentioned that the contents of the books attract Sections 152, 196, and 197 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which deal with actions against the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Authorities said investigations and intelligence reports show that these books played a major role in radicalising youth by distorting history, promoting violence, attacking the image of security forces, and spreading separatist ideas.
“This kind of literature has misled youth by glorifying terrorism, building a false sense of victimhood, and promoting anger against the Indian state,” the government said. It added that such books, often presented as political or historical analysis, are in reality aimed at dividing society and encouraging young people to take the path of violence.
As a result, the government has forfeited all copies of these 25 books, meaning their publication, sale, and circulation is now banned. The public is warned not to keep or distribute these books, and authorities have been ordered to seize any remaining copies.
Full list of banned books:
- Human Rights Violations in Kashmir – Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska
Publisher: Routledge (Manohar Publishers & Distributors) - Kashmiri’s Fight for Freedom – Mohammad Yosuf Saraf
Publisher: Feroze Sons, Pakistan - Colonizing Kashmir: State-Building under Indian Occupation – Hafsa Kanjwal
Publisher: Stanford University Press - Kashmir Politics and Plebiscite – Dr. Abdul Gani Gohar
Publisher: Gulshan Books Kashmir - Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? – Essar Batool and others
Publisher: Zubaan Books - Mujahid ki Azan – Imam Hasan Al-Banna Shaheed (edited by Maulana Mohammad Enayatullah Subhani)
Publisher: Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi - Al Jihad Fil Islam – Maulana Abul A’la Maududi
- Independence and Resistance in Kashmir – Title incomplete in document
- Contested Lands – Sumantra Bose
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India, Gurugram - In Search of a Future: The Story of Kashmir – David Devadas
Publisher: Viking (Penguin) - Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War – Victoria Schofield
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic India - The Kashmir Dispute: 1947–2012 – A.G. Noorani
Publisher: Tulika Books, Chennai - Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-Century Conflict – Sumantra Bose
Publisher: Pan Macmillan India, New Delhi - A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370 – Anuradha Bhasin
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India, Gurugram - Resisting Disappearance: Military Occupation and Women’s Activism in Kashmir – Ather Zia
Publisher: Zubaan Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi - Confronting Terrorism – Edited by Maroof Raza and Stephen Cohen
Publisher: Penguin India, Daryaganj, New Delhi - Freedom in Captivity: Negotiations of Belonging Along the Kashmiri Frontier – Radhika Gupta
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi - Kashmir: The Case for Freedom – Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhatt, Angana P. Chatterji, Pankaj Mishra, Arundhati Roy
Publisher: Verso Books - Azadi – Arundhati Roy
Publisher: Penguin India, Daryaganj, New Delhi - USA and Kashmir – Dr. Shamshad Shan
Publisher: Gulshan Books - Law & Conflict Resolution in Kashmir – Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska
Publisher: Routledge (Manohar Publishers & Distributors) - History of Kashmir Politics – Dr. U.G.H.
Publisher: Karwan-e-Tahqiq-o-Saqafat, Kashmir - Kashmir and the Future of South Asia – Edited by Sugata Bose & Ayesha Jalal
Publisher: Routledge (Manohar Publishers & Distributors)
The Home Department has attached these books as Annexure “A” in its official order, and security agencies are now expected to begin the process of removing these books from circulation.
