Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday (July 4) suspended eight officials of the school education department, terminated the services of a contractual employee and ordered an inquiry into the approval and distribution of two books that it said contained “highly inappropriate content” glorifying separatism in the Union territory.The directive came following objections raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and other political parties. They alleged that these books glorified separatist leaders and promoted an anti-national narrative in the region.In a government order dated on July 4, the administration mentioned the publications had been supplied to government schools under the Samagra Shiksha library programme. The school education department had already ordered the books’ withdrawal on July 3 because it termed the content inappropriate and had potential to affect public order and educational standards.The 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, have ignited controversy in the region after politicians across the party lines demanded action over the books’ contents.A total of 123 copies of the first book had been supplied to schools in Jammu, Ramban and Udhampur districts of the Jammu division, while 128 copies of the other had been distributed in Jammu and Baramulla districts of the Kashmir division, the report said.Screenshots circulating on social media purportedly show one of the books describing Maqbool Bhat, the founder of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), who was hanged inside the Tihar jail, as “Kashmir’s first dreamer for an Independent Kashmir”. Media reports also claimed that the books referred to separatist leaders in the valley, including late Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, in “favourable light”. The Wire could not independently verify the authenticity of the screenshots circulating online.The administration’s order states that the books contained material “related to separatism” with the potential to create law and order problems, and attributes the lapse to “serious negligence, dereliction of duty and lack of proper due diligence” by members of the evaluation committee and supervisory officers responsible for recommending the titles.“It has come to the notice of the department that these books have highly inappropriate content, it is quite evident that there was serious negligence, dereliction of duty and lack of proper due diligence was carried out by the members of the Sub Committee Series 4 and Supervisory Officers while recommending such books which contained content related to separatism which has potential for creating law and order situations,” it stated.Also read: ‘Burning Knowledge’: My Book Is Among Those Banned by the Jammu & Kashmir AdministrationThe administration held the approval process responsible for the lapse saying that adequate scrutiny had not been done before the books were cleared for inclusion in school libraries across the UT.The suspended officials include Fazil Imran Saddiqui, coordinator (Library), Samagra Shiksha; Gurjeet Singh, assistant coordinator, Samagra Shiksha; Sanjeev Sharma, principal of Government Higher Secondary School, Kore Punnu; Shazia Kouser, academic officer, SCERT Jammu; Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir, lecturer at Boys Higher Secondary School, Wathoora, Budgam; Niranjan Sharma, lecturer at Government Higher Secondary School, Badhat, Kishtwar; Renu Mengi, lecturer at DIET Jammu; and Rajmohini, lecturer at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Poonch.They have been suspended under Rule 31(1)(a) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956, and will remain attached to the administrative department of the School Education Department till further orders.The administration also disengaged Sheikh Suheel Ahmad, a contractual computer assistant attached to the Library Coordinator, Samagra Shiksha, with immediate effect.According to the order, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has appointed Ashwani Kumar, financial commissioner (additional chief secretary), Power Development Department, as the inquiry officer. Rohit Sharma, additional secretary in the General Administration Department, has been appointed presenting officer. The inquiry has been directed to submit its report within 30 days.In addition, the order blacklisted authors and publishers of the two books in the Union territory. It also directed that any other publications authored or published by them be withdrawn from educational institutions in Jammu and Kashmir.Political reactionsSunil Sharma, Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly and BJP leader, while addressing a press conference in Jammu, described the issue as a “criminal matter” rather than an academic lapse, alleging that it reflected an attempt to revive separatist sentiment through the education system and called it “academic jihad”.He claimed the books “glorify convicts, murderers, terrorists, separatists and stone-pelters” and criticised the School Education Department for distributing them under the Samagra Shiksha programme. “It is deeply regrettable that the Jammu and Kashmir Education Department has distributed this book to schools under the logo of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. This is a grave offence,” the BJP leader said, demanding immediate withdrawal of the books.The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) also sought a high-level inquiry into how the books were approved and supplied to government schools.“There is no place for such mischief. If the book carries objectionable content, as is being reported, a high-level probe should identify those responsible for allowing its distribution,” JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said in a press statement, adding that the books should remain banned until the inquiry is completed.The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Forum (JKPF), which first raised objections, similarly alleged that the books portrayed separatist leaders and individuals linked to militancy as “great personalities” and “legends” of Jammu and Kashmir.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.‘Deliberate attempt’Criticising the lapse, Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Sakina Itoo said the inclusion of separatist leaders’ names in school textbooks was a ‘deliberate attempt’. She warned that those found responsible will face strict action, including termination from duty. “I believe that this is a deliberate attempt and whosoever will be involved in it will face a strict action and termination from the duties,” she said, while interacting with media in Srinagar.“As soon as the issue of the two textbooks carrying the ‘inappropriate content’ came to my notice, I immediately asked the secretary of the School Education Department to terminate those persons,” she added.The latest action also comes amid a broader pattern of restrictions on publications in Jammu and Kashmir.In August 2025, the administration declared 25 books “forfeited” on the grounds that they propagated “false narratives and secessionism” in Jammu and Kashmir.The list included works by authors such as Christopher Snedden, A.G. Noorani, Sumantra Bose, Ayesha Jalal, Sugata Bose, Arundhati Roy and Stephen P. Cohen, including Independent Kashmir, The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012, Kashmir at Crossroads, Kashmir and the Future of South Asia, Azadi and Confronting Terrorism.Junaid Dar is an independent journalist.