Recent government orders across Jammu & Kashmir’s higher‑education landscape have mandated a comprehensive audit of all books held in university libraries, college shelves and school classrooms. The directive calls for the removal of any material suspected of containing ‘anti‑India’ or ‘pro‑separatist’ narratives, yet it provides no concrete list of titles or authors.

Historical Context

In 2025, the University of Kashmir banned works by scholars such as Christopher Snedden, A.G. Noorani, Sugata Bose, and Arundhati Roy after a controversial textbook titled “Great Personalities and Legends of J&K” was circulated under the national Samagra Shiksha scheme. That book profiled Kashmiri separatist leaders, igniting a statewide backlash and setting a precedent for subsequent purges.

Current Implementation

The departments most affected this time are Political Science, Law and History. Senior faculty members report that within two days, hundreds of books have been flagged as “problematic” and sent back to the university’s central library for disposal. The lack of clarity in the order leaves department heads grappling with ambiguous criteria, while the anonymity of the directive prevents any public accountability.

Impact on Academic Freedom

Education experts argue that this opaque “clean‑up” drives self‑censorship, curbing scholars’ ability to engage critically with contentious topics. Removing texts that discuss pivotal figures and events in Kashmiri history limits classroom debate, hampers research diversity, and threatens the rigor that universities traditionally uphold.

Political Reactions

Regional political leaders have condemned the move. PDP senior Najeeb Akhtar remarked, “The right to teach belongs to academia, not the state. This new wave of purging could be far broader than we anticipate.” National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah added, “Erasing books does not erase history; it only impoverishes scholarship.”

Both the School Education Department and the Higher Education Department have released detailed circulars outlining criteria for acceptable material – emphasizing factual authenticity, pedagogical relevance, and alignment with the Indian Constitution and the National Education Policy. Critics warn that these criteria could be wielded to suppress dissenting viewpoints under the guise of academic standards.

If such policies persist, Kashmiri students and researchers may find themselves constrained to a narrow pool of sources, potentially diminishing the region’s contribution to national and global academic discourse.