Authors slam book ban in Jammu and Kashmir, call it a crackdown on free speech

Authors criticized the Jammu and Kashmir government's ban on 25 books, calling it a 'regrettable' attack on democratic values and intellectual freedom and condemned the move as an attempt to silence dissent and intimidate Kashmiris into submission.

New Delhi: The ban on 25 books in Jammu and Kashmir is “regrettable” and an attempt “to warn Kashmiris against free speech”, authors and scholars reacted on Thursday to the order of the Union Territory's Home Department to forfeit these publications for "promoting false narratives and secessionism".

In the order issued on Wednesday, the Jammu and Kashmir government noted that certain books, including those written by famous authors like Moulana Moudadi, Arundhati Roy, A G Noorani, Victoria Schofield, Sumantra Bose and David Devadas, have played a critical role in "misguiding the youth, glorifying terrorism and inciting violence" against India.

Reacting to the order, political scientist and author Bose said that his chief objective has been "to identify pathways to peace" and rejected "any and all defamatory slurs" on his work.

"I have worked on Kashmir -- among many other subjects -- since 1993. Throughout, my chief objective has been to identify pathways to peace so that all violence ends and a stable future free of fear and war can be enjoyed by the people of the conflict region, of India as a whole, and the subcontinent.

"I am a committed and principled advocate of peaceful approaches and resolutions to armed conflicts, be it in Kashmir or elsewhere in the world," Bose told PTI.

Two of his books, "Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-Century Conflict" and "Contested Lands", have been banned.

Anthropologist and scholar Angana Chatterjee's “Kashmir: A Case for Freedom”, co-authored with Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhat, Habbah Khatun, Pankaj Mishra and Arundhati Roy, is also on the list of banned books.

Chatterjee said that “authoritarian regimes ban books to assert and mobilise their power”.

“...as they govern through suppression, fear, and violence.... Ghettoising and demonising writers blatantly censor the local knowledge and critical insight they put forward,” she told PTI.

“It attempts to place oppressed groups on notice, to warn Kashmiris against free speech, dissent, and against seeking acknowledgement and justice for the crimes of history detailed in the books that are now banned,” she said.

The books include “Al Jihadul fil Islam” by Islamic scholar and founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, Moulana Moudadi, “Independent Kashmir” by Australian author Christopher Snedden, “In Search of a Future (The Story of Kasimir)” by David Devadas, “Kashmir in Conflict (India, Pakistan and the unending War)” by Victoria Schofield, “The Kashmir Dispute (1947-2012)” by A G Noorani, and “Azadi” by Arundhati Roy.

Devadas said that the ban “is regrettable, for banning books goes against the grain of our democratic ideals, and our civilisational ethos”.

“My book strongly advocates peace, dialogue and democracy in the spirit of (then) Prime Minister Vajpayee's peace process, which had reached fruition around the time my book was completed. I fully backed that peace process.

“The book was in consonance with the Constitution of India. It objectively brought out the truth about what had happened in Kashmir, including the roles of foreign powers and conflict entrepreneurs, without any advocacy of separatism,” the journalist-author said.

Author Anuradha Bhasin took to social media to defend the books.

“I've read most of these books and written one. They're well researched and not one glorifies terrorism which this government claims to have ended. Scared of words challenging your lies!” she posted on X.

Bhasin’s book “A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir after Article 370” has also been banned.

Other books included in the order are “Resisting Disappearance: Military Occupation & Women’s Activism in Kashmir” by Ather Zia, “Confronting Terrorism by Maroof Raza, Freedom in Captivity: Negotiations of belonging along Kashmiri Frontier” by Radhika Gupta, “USA and Kashmir” by Dr Shamshad Shan, “Kashmir & the Future of South Asia” by Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal.