As Kashmir universities select ‘inappropriate’ books, academics fear loss of academic rigor

More than 50 academic departments of the University of Kashmir (KU) and colleges and schools across the valley are conducting a comprehensive book screening on official orders to remove literature suspected of containing “anti-India” or “pro-separatist” content. At the same time, regional parties of J&K reacted sharply to the development.

The three main departments of KU – political science, law and history – are most affected. “For the past two days, we have identified problematic books. The returned books will go to the KU Central Library,” said a senior professor on condition of anonymity.

Many department heads struggle with the vague official order that says “all problematic books without any titles or authors should be removed.”

In 2025, KU removed all 25 books authored by Christopher Snedden, AG Noorani, Sumantra Bose, Ayesha Jalal, Sugata Bose, Arundhati Roy, Stephen P. Cohen, Anuradha Bhasin, Seema Qazi, etc. as a result of the official ban.

“This time there are no titles or authors. It has created a sense of self-censorship. Hundreds of books are being identified and scrapped in departments out of fear from officials. This random scrapping will affect students’ academic research in the future,” another professor said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a scholar said that removing books on history and personalities crucial to Kashmir’s historical trajectory will “undermine academic rigour” and “also impact results”. “It will only create academic bias among scholars,” he added.

Not only the Kashmiri universities, but also the directorate of school education in Kashmir has asked all principals of government school institutions, private schools and training institutions to “conduct a comprehensive screening of all available books and ensure that no book contains inappropriate or objectionable content”.

The committee was tasked with collecting audit certification reports of defective books from the districts. “Any violation of these guidelines will be viewed seriously and will require appropriate disciplinary action,” the official order said.

The order came days after a book titled “Great Personalities and Legends of J&K” profiled Kashmiri separatist leaders like Maqbool Bhat, Masarat Alam, Shabir Shah and Syed Ali Geelani and was circulated in J&K schools under the national Samagra Shiksha programme. The publisher of the book is from Jammu and the printing was done either in Noida or Delhi, official sources said. One of the two authors mentioned in the book has remained “untraceable” to the J&K Police till date.

‘New Cleaning’

Due to the development in Kashmir, several political leaders reacted strongly.

“Academics should have the final authority to decide, not the state. In J&K, the state has already expelled Iqbal, Nund Rishi, Sheikh Abdullah and one of the biggest names in contemporary English, Agha Shahid, from the curriculum. Scholars like AG Noorani are banned. How wide is the new purge?” said Naeem Akhtar, a senior leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who served as education minister in the past.

National Conference (NC) MP Aga Syed Ruhullah said erasing books will not erase history; it only impoverishes the scholarship. “A society that fears ideas ultimately fears truth. Academic freedom and the right to engage in history must never fall victim to ideological control,” Mr Ruhullah said.

He said reports of books related to the history and identity of Kashmir being removed from the University of Kashmir, along with the ongoing audit of educational institutions, “are deeply disturbing”. “Libraries exist to preserve knowledge, not to curate political narratives,” he added.

Govt. circulars

Meanwhile, the J&K School Education Department and the Higher Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir have issued comprehensive circulars for a structured framework for evaluation of books and academic materials in all educational institutions.

It stated that the academic resources available in the institutions should have established academic values, factual authenticity, pedagogical relevance and educational value, while remaining consistent with the Constitution of India, applicable laws and the National Education Policy (NEP).

“It should not contain material that directly or indirectly promotes, glorifies, legitimizes or justifies terrorism, violent extremism, secessionism, radicalization or any activity prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the nation,” he added.

To ensure effective implementation, officials said the government has institutionalized multi-level academic and content review mechanisms. “They ensure systematic academic evaluation, content verification, quality assurance, periodic review and institutional oversight through committees constituted at the institution, district, directorate, university and administrative department levels while respecting the statutory and academic autonomy of the universities within the framework of applicable UGC laws and regulations,” he added.

Published – 10 Jul 2026 23:02 IST