The Jammu and Kashmir administration officially banned 25 books under Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, declaring them forfeited for allegedly promoting secessionist ideologies, glorifying terrorism, and radicalising youth. Authorities cited concerns over the books distorting historical facts, spreading anti-national narratives, vilifying security forces, and fostering alienation in the Union Territory.
The government stated that the decision followed thorough investigations and intelligence assessments. The books, it said, were found to violate Sections 152, 196, and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023—provisions related to threats against national sovereignty, inciting enmity, and harming national integration.
Among the banned titles is Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction by Arundhati Roy, a 2020 essay collection examining India’s political climate and Kashmir’s struggle. Other authors whose works have been blacklisted include A.G. Noorani (The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012), Victoria Schofield (Kashmir in Conflict), Sumantra Bose (Contested Lands and Kashmir at the Crossroads), and Islamic scholar Maulana Maududi (Al-Jihad fil Islam). Also banned are Christopher Snedden’s Independent Kashmir, Anuradha Bhasin’s A Dismantled State, and the anthology Kashmir: The Case for Freedom by Tariq Ali and others.
These books—published by globally respected publishers such as Penguin, Routledge, and Oxford University Press—were accused by the administration of inciting unrest and undermining national unity by presenting what it described as “false and secessionist narratives.”
The ban, ordered under Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s leadership, has triggered sharp backlash from political parties, academics, and civil liberties groups. The move came just ahead of the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, which stripped J&K of its special constitutional status. Coincidentally, it also overlapped with an official literary festival where LG Sinha stressed the importance of “correcting historical narratives.”
Government’s Stand
Officials defended the decision as necessary to safeguard national interests. They argue that the banned books feed into a “culture of grievance, victimhood, and terrorist heroism,” and claimed the move would help prevent the radicalisation of youth in the region.
The ban includes strict restrictions on the sale, possession, and circulation of these titles within Jammu and Kashmir. Authorities have been empowered to seize any physical or digital copies found in circulation.
While the full list of the banned books is available through official notifications, reactions from several authors and publishers are still awaited. Some, like Bhasin, have already vowed to challenge the order.
As the controversy unfolds, the decision has reignited national debate over censorship, freedom of expression, and the boundaries between security and dissent in India’s democracy.
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