Kashmir police raid bookshops to seize ‘secessionist' texts

Times

6 days ago

Police in Kashmir have raided bookshops in the capital, Srinagar, to remove 25 texts banned for allegedly instigating secessionism, including a work by the Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy.
The government said the books provided a false narrative to young Kashmiris which encouraged their 'participation in violence and terrorism'.
'This literature would deeply impact the psyche of youth by promoting a culture of grievance, victimhood, and terrorist heroism,' it said.
The books included the works of some of India's most respected historians and scholars. On the list was Azadi by Roy, a collection of essays on the Kashmiris who have allegedly been killed in recent decades by the Indian army, which has an overwhelming presence in the region.
Police in Srinagar said the objective of the raids was to 'identify, seize, and forfeit any literature that propagates or systematically disseminates false narratives, promotes secessionist ideologies, or otherwise poses a threat to the sovereignty and unity of India'.
A store owner in Srinagar who did not want to be named said that several bookshops in the main shopping centre of Lal Chowk had been raided by the police who confiscated various works.
'Luckily my shop is in an alley and they haven't come yet. In any case, I've removed the books as I don't want to be arrested. The ban is so stupid. A Kashmiri cannot buy the books in my store but can order them on Amazon,' he said.
The fear among Kashmiris is that the next step will be for the police to enter their homes to find copies.
A retired bureaucrat who also did not want to be named said the ban revealed 'growing insecurity' on the part of Narendra Modi's government. 'They keep shouting from the rooftops that the situation in Kashmir is wonderful, that there is peace, that the insurgency has faded but if that's the case then why take such measures?'
Most of the banned books trace the origins of the more than 30-year-old insurgency which has convulsed Kashmir, where there is a Muslim majority. Militant groups have fought either for independence from India or union with Pakistan.
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The other books deal with the human rights atrocities allegedly committed by the Indian army and paramilitary forces, an allegation which Delhi, under different governments over the years, has always denied.
In 2019, the Modi government took the decision to strip Kashmir of its autonomy and statehood. Since then, it has been ruled from Delhi though day-to-day affairs are handled by the elected chief minister after elections to the state assembly last year.
Delhi has repeatedly said it intends to restore Kashmir's statehood but has kept putting it off, and Kashmiris have grown increasingly restive and frustrated. They are now waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on petitions asking for the urgent restoration of statehood.
The book ban coincides with a state-sponsored book festival that is being held by the army to promote the habit of reading. Visitors to the fair said the police were seen raiding book stalls there too.