Jammu Kashmir Government Bans 25 Books Citing Secessionism, Incitement

On August 5, 2025, the Jammu and Kashmir government, under Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, banned 25 books alleging they promote secessionism, glorify militants, and distort historical facts, which the administration claims contribute to youth radicalization and threaten India's sovereignty. The banned titles include works by prominent authors such as Arundhati Roy, Anuradha Bhasin, Ather Zia, Hafsa Kanjwal, and A.G. Noorani, many of whom document human rights abuses, state policies, and alternative Kashmiri narratives challenging the Indian government's official stance. Critics, including academics and rights defenders, view the ban as a tactic to silence dissent, erase alternative histories, and control narratives amid ongoing political and media suppression in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. The ban coincided with the Chinar Book Festival in Srinagar and sparked police raids on bookstores, intensifying concerns over censorship and intellectual freedom in the region. Experts argue that these books provide balanced perspectives on the Kashmir conflict and that banning them does not address underlying grievances fueling unrest. The move has deepened fears of isolation of Kashmiri voices from global academic discourse and further complicates the region's political tensions.