Over 50 academic departments of the Kashmir University (KU) and Valley-wide colleges and schools are carrying out a comprehensive screening of books to remove literature suspected to contain ‘anti-India’ or ‘pro-separatist’ content, in the wake of official orders. Meanwhile, J&K regional parties reacted sharply to the development.
KU’s three main departments of Political Science, Law, and History are the most affected. “We have been identifying problematic books for the past two days. The returned books will go to KU’s central library,” said a senior professor, on the condition of anonymity.
Many Heads of Departments are grappling with the vague official order, which says all “problematic books should be removed without any titles or authors identified”.
In 2025, KU removed all 25 books authored by Christopher Snedden, A.G. Noorani, Sumantra Bose, Ayesha Jalal, Sugata Bose, Arundhati Roy, Stephen P. Cohen, Anuradha Bhasin, Seema Qazi, etc, in the wake of an official ban.
“This time, there are no titles or authors. It has induced a sense of self-censorship. Fearing action from officials, hundreds of books are identified and culled in the departments. This random culling will impact academic research of students in the future,” said another professor.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a scholar said removing books on history and personalities who are key to the historic trajectory of Kashmir “will dent the academic rigour” and “impact on the outcomes too”. “It will only induce academic bias among scholars,” he added.
Not only Kashmir varsities, the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir, has also asked all Heads of Institutions of government schools, private schools, and coaching institutions “to conduct a comprehensive screening of all books available and ensure that no book contains inappropriate or objectionable content”.
A committee has been tasked with collecting the certification reports on audit of objectionable books from the districts. “Any lapse in compliance with these instructions shall be viewed seriously and will invite appropriate disciplinary action,” the official order said.
The order came days after a book, titled ‘Great Personalities and Legends of J&K’, profiled Kashmir separatist leaders like Maqbool Bhat, Masarat Alam, Shabir Shah and Syed Ali Geelani, and circulated in J&K schools under the national Samagra Shiksha scheme. The publisher of the book is from Jammu and the printing has been done either in Noida or Delhi, official sources said. One of the two authors identified in the book remained “untraced” for the J&K Police till date.
‘New purge’
There have been sharp reactions from several political leaders in Kashmir over the development.
“Academics should have the ultimate power to decide, not the state. In J&K, the state has already exiled Iqbal, Nund Rishi, Sheikh Abdullah and one of the biggest names in contemporary English Agha Shahid from the curriculum. Scholars like A.G. Noorani are banned. How wide is the new purge?” said Naeem Akhtar, a senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader who served as Education Minister in the past.
National Conference (NC) MP Aga Syed Ruhullah said erasing books does not erase history; it only impoverishes scholarship. “A society that fears ideas ultimately fears the truth. Academic freedom and the right to engage with history must never become casualties of ideological control,” said Mr. Ruhullah.
He said the reports of books relating to Kashmir’s history and identity being removed from the University of Kashmir, alongside the ongoing audit of educational institutions, “are deeply troubling”. “Libraries exist to preserve knowledge, not curate political narratives,” he added.
Govt. circulars
Meanwhile, the J&K School Education Department and Higher Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir have issued comprehensive circulars for a structured framework to evaluate books and academic material in all educational institutions.
It said academic resources available in institutions should possess established academic merit, factual authenticity, pedagogical relevance and educational value, while remaining consistent with the Constitution of India, laws in force, and National Education Policy (NEP).
“It should not contain material that directly or indirectly promotes, glorifies, legitimises or justifies terrorism, violent extremism, secessionism, radicalisation or any activity prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the Nation,” it added.
To ensure effective implementation, officials said the government has institutionalised multi-tier academic and content scrutiny mechanisms. “These provide for systematic academic evaluation, content verification, quality assurance, periodic review and institutional oversight through committees constituted at the institutional, district, directorate, university and administrative department levels, while respecting the statutory and academic autonomy of universities within the framework of applicable laws and UGC regulations,” it added.
Published – July 10, 2026 11:02 pm IST
