Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting on July 7, directing authorities to conduct a comprehensive audit of educational institutions across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In the meeting, he directed officials to identify and remove books and publications containing what the administration described as “anti-national, separatist or objectionable content.”The L-G administration has also ordered universities, colleges, schools and libraries to certify that no such material exists on their premises. In the order, the heads of institutions have been warned that they will be held personally responsible for any lapses and will face strict legal action.According to the statement, officials during the meeting informed the administration that books allegedly glorifying separatism had been recovered from some educational institutions. The L-G directed the establishment of a robust mechanism for future procurement of academic material, including periodic reviews by educationists, intellectuals and senior officials to prevent objectionable literature from making its way into educational institutions. Digital repositories and university websites have also been brought under scrutiny.The move follows an ongoing investigation into the circulation of around 251 controversial copies of two books titled Personalities and Legends of J&K, co-authored by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena (Oberoi Book Service, Jammu), and Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir, authored by Sushant Giri and published by Anurag Prakashan, Delhi. The government suspended eight officials and blacklisted the authors and publishers over the books’ contents.The books were among 463 titles approved from 364 publishers in the UT for distribution to 18,328 government schools and 394 PM SHRI schools under the Union government’s Samagra Shiksha scheme, following recommendations by expert committees.The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) teams questioned the Samagra Shiksha director and other officials at Channi Himmat on Jammu’s outskirts, while another team searched a publisher’s office in Noida. However, police made no arrests and issued no official statement.The case has been registered under Sections 49 (abetment), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), 196 (promoting enmity, disharmony) and 353 (publishing, or circulating false statements, rumors or reports) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), besides Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.But beyond administrative orders and police investigations into the book controversy, the development has triggered a deeper conversation: Who decides what students should read, and what happens when history itself becomes contested?Also read: What Does the Book Ban in Kashmir Seek to Repress?‘Libraries are meant to preserve knowledge’Among the strongest voices opposing the move is Srinagar Member of Parliament Syed Agha Ruhullah Mehdi, who believes that the issue extends far beyond the removal of a few books.“The disturbing reports about the removal and scrutiny of books dealing with Kashmir’s history, identity and political evolution are not an isolated administrative exercise. They appear to be part of a larger pattern that seeks to marginalise the collective memory of a people,” Ruhullah told The Wire.He said the exercise risks weakening the collective memory of a society and called access to literature the “right of a people to know themselves through their own history.”“A society does not lose its identity in a single moment; it loses it when its history is gradually removed from classrooms, its archives, its libraries and its public consciousness,” he said.Urging people to keep literature separate from politics, Ruhullah argued that a library is not expected to reflect the ideology of any government but to preserve knowledge, even ideas that may challenge prevailing political narratives. “The presence of a book in a library is not an endorsement of its contents; it is an acknowledgement that scholarship demands access, debate and critical inquiry,” he said.He warned that limiting access to historical material could leave future generations with an increasingly curated and diminished understanding of their own past. “It raises the fear that Kashmir’s historical experience and political journey are being pushed out of the academic space, leaving future generations with an increasingly curated and diminished understanding of their own past,” he added.Literature beyond securityKashmir-based author and journalist Rao Farman Ali saw the debate through a different lens, one centred on the purpose of literature itself and how that purpose is defined.“Literature can be divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad’,” he told The Wire. “But its purpose is to help people understand life, human emotions, the past and the present, and the linkages between them.”He asserted that the tendency to evaluate literature on Kashmir primarily through a security framework will overshadow its academic value. “Material dealing with resistance or separatism may be viewed negatively in a security framework, but any meaningful understanding of Kashmir requires an awareness of what has happened in the past.”Like Ruhullah, Rao also said that removing books from university libraries is unlikely to erase interest in controversial subjects. “The same literature is readily available on the internet. Removing it from libraries does not erase curiosity; it may actually increase it.”His greater concern lies with higher education, where students are expected to examine competing narratives rather than accept a single official version. “Research requires engagement with primary and secondary sources as well as differing perspectives,” he said. “If students are exposed to only one version of events, they are left with an incomplete understanding.”‘Normalcy after Article 370 move’The administration has defended the initiative as necessary to protect educational institutions from material that could mislead or radicalise students. But many believe that dissent should be viewed positively because it is an essential feature of a vibrant democratic society.“The administration argues that literature dealing with militancy or separatism should be removed. At the same time, it also claims that normalcy has returned after the reading down of Article 370. If that is the case, many young people naturally ask why there is still such a heavy security presence, why unresolved political questions continue to exist, and why they are talking to the country which they feel is an adversary,” Rao questioned.Sinha stressed that schools and universities must remain “centres of learning, nation-building and constitutional values” and declared “zero tolerance” for attempts to promote separatist narratives through educational material.But, Rao said, educational institutions in conflict regions should function as “zones of peace.”“Students should be provided an environment where they can think critically and express themselves freely without politics being imposed upon them. The purpose of education is to produce ethical, responsible and confident future citizens, not individuals who simply accept one narrative,” he added.The proposed Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) issued by the administration would require books entering educational institutions to undergo screening and periodic review before reaching students.“Determining whether a publication is appropriate should not be left solely to a security-based approach. Autonomous academic bodies, including vice-chancellors, principals and committees of subject experts, should examine such material and decide its academic relevance,” he added.Also read: ‘Burning Knowledge’: My Book Is Among Those Banned by the Jammu & Kashmir AdministrationA larger conversationIn Kashmir, where history remains deeply intertwined with identity and politics, books often carry significance beyond their pages.For students pursuing history, political science or conflict studies, access to diverse sources is central to academic inquiry. For administrators, ensuring educational material aligns with constitutional values has become an equally pressing concern. But critics say the move will turn students into recipients of propaganda.“My concern is that restricting access to literature may ultimately make young people more curious about the very material being removed. Young people are not robots; they should be trusted to examine history, understand mistakes of the past, and develop into responsible citizens capable of independent thought,” Rao told The Wire.Caught between these positions are libraries, institutions traditionally designed to preserve knowledge rather than settle political debates.Whether the government’s audit ultimately results in the removal of a handful of books or reshapes how educational institutions curate knowledge, the controversy has already reignited an old question that extends far beyond Kashmir’s libraries: Can a society fully understand itself if some parts of its history become harder to read?“History cannot be erased by removing books, but attempts to deny people access to their history weaken the foundations of democracy and academic freedom. Nations secure in their values do not fear scholarship; they engage with it. They do not erase inconvenient narratives; they debate them,” Agha Ruhullah told The Wire.He argued that the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve clarity from the authorities. “People of Jammu and Kashmir deserve the assurance that educational and academic institutions will remain places where knowledge is preserved, not filtered, and where history is studied, not suppressed,” he said.Sharing copies of the DSEK circular on X, People’s Democratic Party legislator Waheed Ur Rehman Para questioned the elected government’s role in the exercise.“No offence to CM @OmarAbdullah Sahab’s protest programme, but the process of ‘unhistory’ is unfolding every day under your own administration and authority. Where are we supposed to protest against these orders?” he wrote.Ruhullah referred to reports of books relating to Kashmir’s history being removed from the University of Kashmir.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. 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,” his office posted on X.