Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has officially banned 25 books, including works by Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and renowned constitutional expert AG Noorani, citing concerns over the promotion of "false narrative" and "secessionism" in the Union Territory.

Books declared forfeited over security concerns

In an order issued by the J&K Home Department, the administration stated that credible intelligence had indicated the existence of a “systemic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature” presented as historical or political analysis. As a result, the government has ordered that all 25 identified books be declared as ‘forfeited’.

The order refers to Section 98 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, under which the forfeiture was initiated. It adds, “Whereas, the identified 25 books have been found to excite secessionism and endangering sovereignty and integrity of India, thereby, attracting the provisions of sections 152, 196 & 197 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.”

Notable authors and titles included in the ban

Among the banned works is AG Noorani’s ‘The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012’, a comprehensive legal and historical analysis of the region’s constitutional relationship with the Indian Union. Noorani, regarded as one of India's leading legal scholars, had written extensively on constitutional matters, particularly concerning Kashmir.

British historian Victoria Schofield’s ‘Kashmir in Conflict – India, Pakistan and the Unending War’ has also been listed among the banned titles.

Sumantra Bose, professor of international and comparative politics at the London School of Economics, has two of his books, ‘Contested Lands’ and ‘Kashmir at the Crossroads’, included in the list of publications now banned and forfeited in Jammu and Kashmir.

Arundhati Roy’s ‘Azadi’, published by Penguin India, is also among the titles now prohibited in the region.

Other banned works include ‘Law & Conflict Resolution’, co-authored by Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska, and ‘The Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After 370’ by Anuradha Bhasin, editor of the Kashmir Times.

Government justifies action under new laws

The Home Department’s decision is based on findings that the books in question “excite secessionism and endanger the sovereignty and integrity of India.”

The action has been taken under newly framed laws, the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replace the Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure.

According to the administration, the banned material poses a serious threat to national unity, and the step is seen as part of a wider effort to curb the spread of content deemed harmful to public order in the region.