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J&K House session: Opposition slams NC govt for withdrawal of 4,000 books
According to details provided to the assembly, 21.81 lakh books/publications have been examined in government degree colleges, in which 12.48 lakh were from Kashmir department
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The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday said that it has withdrawn more than 4,000 books from circulation in J&K. The withdrawal of books has drawn sharp criticism from the political parties.
Legislator from Langate, Sheikh Khursheed, in a question in the J&K assembly had asked whether clear and objective criteria has been adopted for identifying objectionable material by scrutiny of books available in college and other libraries.
In her reply, the minister incharge higher education informed the House that clear and objective criteria has been adopted for identifying objectionable material for scrutiny of books available in colleges in terms of directions as contained in Circular No. 02-JK(HE) of 2026.
According to details provided to the assembly, 21.81 lakh books/publications have been examined in government degree colleges, in which 12.48 lakh were from Kashmir department. The department said 518 books including 478 banned books have been withdrawn from circulation. The department also said 4,249 books have been withdrawn from circulation apart from banned books. The department informed the House that 1,752 books have been referred for expert examination to director examination.
MLA Langate Sheikh Khursheed questioned the removal of thousands of books from libraries of colleges and institutions under the higher education department, alleging that the government had failed to provide details sought through a starred question in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly.
“Approximately 6,519 books have been removed,” Sheikh Khursheed said, referring to the answer received from the government. He said the government, however, did not provide details such as the titles of the books, names of authors, subjects or publishing houses.
He said the lack of such details raised serious questions about the basis on which the books were removed and whether the exercise could have implications for the preservation of J&K’s history, literature and academic record. Khursheed said that he wanted the government to provide a complete list of the books removed, along with their authors, titles, subjects and publishers.“This is a serious issue. When the assembly session resumes, we will once again ask the government to provide the complete list of these books,” he said.
Khursheed also questioned the responsibility of the elected government, saying that the administration must clarify who authorised the removal of the books and under what policy or criteria the decisions were taken.
The legislator also questioned the Union government over what he described as a “restrictive approach” towards books and literature in J&K.
Khursheed claimed that information gathered independently by the party suggested that books containing references to “Kashmir” had also been removed from some libraries. He called for the government to clarify whether any such criterion had been applied and, if so, under whose directions. “Chief minister Omar Abdullah had remained silent over the issue and was facilitating or legitimising measures taken by the Union government,” he alleged.
PDP legislator and CLP leader Waheed ur Rehman Parra also criticised the removal of books. “Its a thought policing. Banning books is like putting sealing on minds and knowledge.”
After LG Manoj Sinha banned 25 books last year, CM Omar Abdullah had blamed the LG for the banning and had said that he would “never ban books”. The banning of books, some of them by acclaimed national and international authors, had raised many eyebrows and elicited harsh reactions and condemnations.
The government’s home department had issued a notification for “forfeiture” of the 25 books to the government written by some prominent and acclaimed authors, political scientists and historians, including AG Noorani, Arundhati Roy, Sumantra Bose, Sugata Bose, Christopher Snedden and Victoria Schofield for allegedly propagating “false narrative and secessionism” in J&K. Most of these books are written on Kashmir conflict, politics, history and human rights.
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