Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has paved the way for seizing 25 book titles, some of which have been authored by top Indian and foreign writers and historians, for “promoting secessionism” and “inciting violence against [the] Indian state” in the Union territory.An order issued on Tuesday (August 5) by Jammu and Kashmir’s home department, which is headed by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, states that these books “propagate [a] false narrative” on Jammu and Kashmir that was a “significant driver behind youth participation in violence and terrorism”.The order was issued exactly on the sixth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 by the BJP-led Union government in 2019, following which Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated and demoted into two Union territories.Some of the banned titles have been published by prominent names in the book publication industry such as Penguin, Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan India, Routledge and Verso Books, and the home department order means that these houses will no longer be able to distribute or reprint these books again.The list of books includes the widely acclaimed The Kashmir Dispute by Indian constitutional expert and public intellectual A.G. Noorani, Kashmir in Conflict – India, Pakistan and the Unending War by British author and historian Victoria Schofield, Azadi by Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy and Contested Lands by professor at the London School of Economics Sumantra Bose.The home department order states that these books “need to be declared as ‘forfeited’ in terms of Section 98 of [the] Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023”. The provision empowers the government to seize books or other documents, and also issue search warrants for such documents.The order states that these books are “disguised as historical or political commentary” on Jammu and Kashmir and they have played “a critical role in misguiding the youth, glorifying terrorism and inciting violence against [the] Indian state”.“This literature would deeply impact the psyche of youth by promoting culture of grievance, victim hood [sic] and terrorist heroism,” the order issued by the lieutenant governor states, adding that these books have “contributed to the radicalisation of youth in J&K” with their “distortion of historical facts, glorification of terrorists, vilification of security forces, religious radicalisation, promotion of alienation, pathway to violence and terrorism etc”.The home department order states that these books “have been found to excite secessionism and endangering sovereignty and integrity of India, thereby, attracting the provisions of sections 152, 196 & 197 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023”.Section 152 of the BNS deals with crimes related to “endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”; section 196 of the BNS cover crimes related to the promotion of enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, caste, etc, while section 197 of the BNS deals with “imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration”. “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 98 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir hereby declares publication of 25 books … to be forfeited to the Government,” the home department order states.The other prominent books in the list include Australian academic Christopher Snedden’s Independent Kashmir; A Dismantled State – The Untold Story of Kashmir after Article 370 by journalist and editor Anuradha Bhasin; Kashmir – The Case for Freedom by Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhatt, Angana P. Chatterji, Pankaj Mishra and Arundhati Roy; Kashmiris’ Fight for Freedom by former Chief Justice of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir high court Mohd Yusuf Saraf; Resisting Occupation in Kashmir by Haley Duschinski, Mona Bhat Ather Zia and Cynthia Mahmood; Al Jihadul fil Islam by Pakistani Islamic scholar and founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami Abul A’la al-Maududi; Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? by Essar Batool; and Kashmir and the Future of South Asia edited by Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal.Bhasin, whose book on the reading down of Article 370 has been targeted by the home department, rejected the allegation of “glorifying terrorism”.Referring to the list of banned books, she said in a Facebook post: “They’re well researched & not one glorifies terrorism which this govt claims to have ended. Scared of words challenging your lies! I challenge the book banners (a ridiculous sign of a depraved mind) to prove a single word that glorifies terrorism. For those who value truth, read it and judge for yourself”.I’ve read most of these books & written one. They’re well researched & not one glorifies terrorism which this govt claims to have ended. Scared of words challenging your lies!J&K bans 25 books citing ‘false narrative’ and ‘glorification of terrorism’ https://t.co/S9i3Y6DJdQ— Anuradha Bhasin (@AnuradhaBhasin_) August 6, 2025Other books in the list include Between Democracy and Nation – Gender and Militarization in Kashmir by Seema Kazi, Colonising Kashmir – State-Building Under Indian Occupation by Hafsa Kanjwal and In Search of a Future The Story of Kasimir (sic) by David Devdas.Among other titles in the home department’s list of ‘forfeited books’ are Human Rights Violations in Kashmir by Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska; Kashmir: Politics and Plebiscite by Abdul Jabbar Gockhami; Mujahid ki Azaan by Imam Hasan Al-Bana Shaheed and edited by Maulana Mohammad Enayatullah Subhani; Confronting Terrorism, edited by Maroof Raza; Freedom in Captivity – Negotiations of Belonging Along Kashmiri Frontier by Radhika Gupta; USA and Kashmir by Shamshad Shan; Law & Conflict – Resolution in Kashmir by Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska; and Tarikh-i-Siyasat Kashmir by Afaq.“Banning books by scholars and reputed historians will not erase historical facts and the repertoire of lived memories of people of Kashmir. It only exposes the insecurities and limited understanding of those behind such authoritarian actions, and the contradiction in proudly hosting the ongoing Book Festival to showcase its literary commitment!” the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq wrote on X.Such an act, wrote Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha, reflects an inherent fear of ideas, debate, and dissent.“Banning of books is the most regressive act in a democracy. It reflects an inherent fear of ideas, debate, and dissent. Democracies thrive on the free exchange of thoughts, even those that are uncomfortable or critical of the ‘official truth.’ The moment we ban a book, it signals not the strength, but insecurity. It also exposes the government’s inability to engage with opposing viewpoints through dialogue. Censorship, especially of literature, stifles imagination, intellectual freedom, and the people’s right to form independent opinions. In place of nurturing an informed citizenry, it pushes society towards ignorance and conformity. A confident democracy must allow space for every voice — even the ones it disagrees with. Jai Hind.”List of banned books as per J&K government order