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The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
The Hindu On Books newsletter: Book bans in Kashmir, talking to Isabel Allende, forgotten voices from Punjab and more
Welcome to this edition of The Hindu on Books Newsletter. Last week, the Jammu & Kashmir Home Department banned 25 books, including works by prominent writers like A.G. Noorani, Sumantra Bose, Arundhati Roy and Ayesha Jalal, for 'propagating false narrative and secessionism'. In an order, the Home Department said the identified 25 books had been found 'to excite secessionism and endangering [the] sovereignty and integrity of India.' The books declared as 'forfeited' include Independent Kashmir by Christopher Snedden; The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012 by A.G. Noorani; Azadi by Arundhati Roy; Confronting Terrorism by Stephen P. Cohen among others. Two books by Islamic scholars, Imam Hasan Al-Bana and Moulana Moudadi, are also on the list. The J&K Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, distanced himself from the move, saying he had never banned books and never would. 'The ban has been imposed by the L-G using the only department he officially controls – the Home Department,' Mr. Abdullah said, as opposition to the move grows across the country. In reviews, we read Harleen Singh's The Lost Heer, Ravikant Kisana's Meet the Savarnas, an excerpt from a new book on Hiroshima, 80 years on, and we talk to Isabel Allende about her new novel. Books of the week In Harleen Singh's epic re-telling, The Lost Heer: Women in Colonial Punjab (Penguin/Viking), there are a myriad echoes of a storied past that situates the Punjab within the larger frame of the subcontinent's history, writes Geeta Doctor. An archivist historian born in Delhi but living now in Toronto, Canada, Singh finds his focus in the lives of women in colonial Punjab. These are the women, mothers of famous sons who ruled and fought over royal fortresses and strongholds that defined the Punjab; their wives, consorts, courtesans and the daughters, who survived what Singh depicts as a stridently patriarchal society; and their hangers-on who made such lives possible. There are many references to the widows emerging from behind their veils sword in hand to exhort their subjects to resist the invader. There are also equally fascinating portrayals, writes Doctor, of the English women who arrived there either as the wives of missionaries, or of the 'memsahibs' married to 'the newly installed 'administrocacy', if one may coin a word, who arrived often from Bengal, the seat of power.' Ravikant Kisana, an academic specialising in cultural studies, uses Marilyn Loden's concept of 'glass ceiling' to describe savarna supremacy in Meet the Savarnas (Ebury Press). Loden, writes G. Sampath in his review, used it to explain how patriarchy and sexism hold women back. Kisana writes: 'Think of south Asia — India especially — as full of people sitting in a cramped and dirty basement… looking up at what is a glass ceiling for them but is, in fact, a floor above which lives a very small group of people.' The group above are the savarnas, who 'have access to all the switches in all the rooms of the house, including the basement. They switch on the lights and switch them off at will.' A glass floor that's also a glass ceiling is a powerful image, points out Sampath. 'It encapsulates the invisible barriers that kick in to prevent someone from rising above their caste-mandated station while also protecting those above from falling lower, thereby cementing the segregation of the basement dwellers from those above ground. The vantage point of caste discourse in India is typically above the glass floor, looking down.' 'Kisana, in a startling inversion, points the lens of anthropological scrutiny upwards, from below the glass floor. What emerges is a searing social commentary that unpeels, with wit and precision, layers of congenital hypocrisy, narcissistic entitlement and delusions of grandeur that have propped up a hereditary elite's fantasies about themselves,' says Sampath. When Isabel Angélica Allende Llona was around nine years old, she travelled with her grandfather to the Argentinian Patagonia, where he had sheep. 'We went by train from Santiago as far to the south as the train would go, continued by car, crossed the Andes on horseback, and on the other side, we were picked up by rangers,' she writes via email to Anushree Nande as they discuss her works, and particularly her new novel My Name is Emilia del Valle (translated by Frances Riddle, published by Bloomsbury). 'That journey is engraved in my memory. That's Chile for me, the country I long for,' says Allende. This deep longing and loss is present in every single book Allende, now 83, has written, including her bestselling debut The House of the Spirits (1982). From the moment she flew to Venezuela where she would remain for 13 years, Chile stopped being hers in the way it had till then, and everything changed forever, says Nande. 'Over the years, Allende would keep interrogating the themes of displacement and identity, of memory and family, as well as the potent links between the personal and the historical, through her stories.' Her new novel is set between San Francisco and Chile. Spotlight At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the Japanese port city of Hiroshima was struck by the world's first atomic bomb that had been built in the U.S. by the top-secret Manhattan Project. Dropped by a B-29 Superfortress, a long-range bomber, the weapon destroyed large parts of the city, and killed tens of thousands. Iain MacGregor's The Hiroshima Men (Constable/Hachette India) traces the path to the attack and its aftermath through the experiences of several key characters, including General Leslie Groves, leader of the Manhattan Project alongside Robert Oppenheimer; pioneering Army Air Force bomber pilot Colonel Paul Tibbets II; the mayor of Hiroshima, Senkichi Awaya, who died in the attack; and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Hersey, who exposed the devastation the bomb inflicted on a city and its people. Read an excerpt. Browser
Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Kashmir police raid bookshops to seize ‘secessionist' texts
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. • We'll attack again if you support terror, Modi warns Pakistan 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.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
J&K Home Department ‘forfeits' 25 books: What does it mean?
The Jammu & Kashmir Home Department issued a notification on August 5, which categorised 25 books as 'forfeited'. These include political biographies, historical accounts and academic works set against the backdrop of the region's politics and history by authors like A G Noorani and Arundhati Roy. The notification has stated that these works carry 'false narratives' and propagate secessionist ideology by 'misguiding the youth, glorifying terrorism, and inciting violence'. It also said their continued circulation could influence the youth in ways that encourage alienation from 'the Indian state'. The move came on the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, which, until August 5, 2019, granted special constitutional status to Jammu & Kashmir. Forfeiture is the legal mechanism, which, unlike censorship that modifies or withholds content, removes a book or printed materials from circulation entirely within a notified area. Once a forfeiture order is issued, the material can no longer be printed, sold, or distributed. Police officers are empowered to search premises and seize copies if they have reasonable suspicion that a banned book is stored there. The effect is immediate, thus making forfeiture one of the most direct tools available to the state in dealing with literature deemed unlawful. The notification relies primarily on Section 98 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which allows the state to forfeit any printed material (newspapers, books, documents) containing matter punishable under specific sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. This includes acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India, promoting enmity between groups, matters intended to outrage religious feelings, among others. To act under Section 98, the government must form the opinion that the material meets these criteria, record its reasons and publish them in a notification. Note that while the Constitution's Article 19 (1) (a) grants all citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression, Article 19(2) permits 'reasonable restrictions' on the exercise of the right. This is permitted in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India; the security of the state; friendly relations with foreign states; public order; or preventing incitement to the commission of an offence. Forfeiture orders are examined against this constitutional framework. Those affected by such an order, or 'any person of interest', can challenge the notification in the High Court with jurisdiction over the area where it was issued. The Supreme Court has previously addressed similar provisions. For instance, in State of Maharashtra & Ors vs Sangharaj Damodar Rupawate & Ors (2010), the SC evaluated the validity of a notification issued under Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Section 98, BNSS) by the Maharashtra government. The notification had directed the forfeiture of 'Shivaji-Hindu King in Islamic India', a book written by James W Laine. The notification said that the book contained derogatory remarks about Shivaji and thus may cause enmity and violence among various communities. The SC laid down various factors that should be taken into consideration while issuing such a notification. These include whether the government has stated its grounds for opinion, and if those grounds are based on facts. The order of forfeiture should also be justified by the merits of the grounds mentioned. The apex court also said that the language and the content of the 'offending' material should be understood based on the intention of the author, and the subsequent impact on the readers. The government is not required to prove the offence beyond a reasonable doubt, but has the responsibility to show that the ingredients of the offence appear to be present, the court said.
Canada News.Net
3 days ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Media curbs deepen as 25 books banned in India's Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India: Indian authorities have prohibited 25 books in Kashmir, alleging that they promote "false narratives" and "secessionism" in a region where media restrictions have tightened sharply in recent years. The ban, which carries potential prison terms for selling or possessing the works, targets writings by Booker Prize-winning novelist and activist Arundhati Roy, constitutional expert A.G. Noorani, and prominent academics and historians including Sumantra Bose, Christopher Snedden, and Victoria Schofield. The order, issued this week by the region's Home Department—under the direct authority of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, New Delhi's top administrator in Kashmir—declares the 25 titles "forfeit" under India's new 2023 criminal code. This removes them from circulation and makes their possession or access illegal within the Himalayan region. Under the code, offenses involving forfeited media can carry prison sentences of three years, seven years, or even life, though no one has yet been prosecuted under these provisions. According to the Home Department's notice, the identified books "excite secessionism" and threaten the "sovereignty and integrity of India." Officials said such works have "played a critical role in misguiding the youth, glorifying terrorism and inciting violence against the Indian State." The ban follows "investigations and credible intelligence" indicating the "systemic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature," which authorities claim is "often disguised as historical or political commentary." Following the order, police searched bookstores, roadside book vendors, and other outlets in Srinagar and across the region to confiscate the banned works. Authorities did not confirm whether any copies had been seized. The Press Trust of India reported that Sumantra Bose, a political scientist whose 'Kashmir at Cross Roads' is among the banned titles, rejected "any and all defamatory slurs" in his work. Since 2019, the government has intensified measures against dissent in Kashmir, showing zero tolerance for narratives that challenge India's sovereignty over the territory. In February, police raided bookstores and confiscated hundreds of titles linked to a prominent Islamic organization. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a prominent Kashmiri leader, condemned the latest ban. The move comes less than a year after an Indian court lifted the decades-long prohibition on Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, noting there had never been an official order banning the book since its withdrawal in 1988 during Congress Party rule.
The Diplomat
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Diplomat
What Underlies India's Ban on 25 Books on Kashmir
The Kashmir Valley was roiled in rumors last week about possible announcements that the Indian government would make on August 5, the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)'s autonomy. Speculation was rife over whether New Delhi would use the anniversary to announce restoration of statehood to J&K. There were rumors too of the government splitting J&K to grant full statehood to Jammu while keeping Kashmir a Union Territory (UT), or even announcing fresh elections to the J&K assembly. As it turns out, none of these rumors materialized that day. 'The hopes of the Kashmiri people regarding restoration of statehood were dashed again,' a legislator of the ruling National Conference (NC) in J&K told The Diplomat. Instead, the J&K administration's home department, which is under the direct control of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, New Delhi's top administrator in Kashmir, announced a ban on 25 books on Kashmir, including those by acclaimed public intellectuals, academics, and journalists like Arundhati Roy, A. G. Noorani, Victoria Schofield, Sugata Bose, Ayesha Jalal, and Anuradha Bhasin. The 25 books were 'found to excite secessionism' and were 'endangering sovereignty and integrity of India,' the government notification said, claiming that their content had 'contributed to the radicalization of youth in J&K' by distorting 'historical facts, glorifying terrorists and vilifying security forces, and promoting violence and terrorism.' In the days since the notification was issued, police have raided dozens of bookstores in Srinagar, J&K's summer capital. It was on August 5, 2019, that India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government unilaterally abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that guaranteed autonomy to J&K. Simultaneously, J&K was stripped of its statehood and bifurcated into two UTs — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Since the assembly elections in October last year, J&K has had an elected government. That government, however, is largely powerless. In a UT, it is the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that effectively governs, through the lieutenant governor. In the case of J&K, direct rule from New Delhi is all the more pronounced. That the center remains reluctant to loosen its hold over J&K is evident from the fact that although Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a 'solemn promise' to restore J&K's statehood after the assembly elections, he has yet to fulfil that pledge. The BJP government justified its abrogation of Article 370 on the grounds that it sowed the seeds of separatism in J&K. Fully integrating J&K into the Indian Union by revoking J&K's autonomy would put an end to separatist aspirations and terrorism there, its ministers claimed. Besides, with uncertainty over the status of J&K removed, investment would flow in, contributing to its economic development. Normalcy would return as a result, the government has said frequently. Six years after the abrogation of J&K's autonomy, how has the government fared in ushering in peace and normalcy in J&K? To quell unrest and protest against its controversial decision to revoke J&K's autonomy, the Modi government acted swiftly to prevent political and mass mobilization by detaining hundreds of political leaders and activists. Political activity was brought to a standstill. With last year's assembly elections, in which Kashmiris participated more enthusiastically than they have since the eruption of militancy in 1990, political activity was revived and democratic politics received a fillip. However, the Modi government has not taken the successful electoral exercise to its logical conclusion by vesting real power with J&K's elected government. Its reluctance to heed the J&K government's repeated calls for restoration of J&K's statehood is not only diminishing the government's credibility, but also it is fueling mass frustration with democratic politics again. On the security front, the Modi government jailed political separatists and Islamists on the grounds that they were involved in the hawala trade and financing militancy. Its crackdown on terrorism included military operations, measures against terrorist financing, and the banning of several terrorist outfits. Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly claimed that the 'zero-tolerance policy' of the government has resulted in a drastic fall in terrorist attacks and in fatalities of civilians and security forces in terrorism-related incidents. However, the terrorist attack at Pahalgam on April 22 this year, which resulted in the death of 26 men, mainly tourists, laid bare the hollowness of the government's claims to have restored normalcy in the Kashmir Valley. Worse, it exposed gaps in security preparedness, especially in tourist areas. Yet it is a fact that a semblance of normalcy has returned to the lives of ordinary people in Kashmir. Stone pelting, strikes, and endless shutdowns of schools and businesses, which were common in the valley, 'have now become a thing of the past,' the NC legislator said, adding that this 'has become possible because most of the separatists — shutdown schedules were announced and enforced by them — are in jail.' 'People are happy to shop when they want and to see their children go to school regularly,' he said. Soon after the attack at Pahalgam, thousands of Kashmiris returned to the streets, this time not to vent their anger against the Indian state but to condemn the terrorists and their targeting of unarmed civilians. This was unprecedented. However, New Delhi, once again, failed to build on the Kashmiri public mood, 'instead choosing to double down on the families of suspected militants by bulldozing their homes,' the NC legislator pointed out. Such measures are fueling anti-India sentiment again. The 25 books that the government has banned may have a different narrative from that propagated by the Indian state. But it is not the content of these books that is fueling separatist sentiment or encouraging violence in the Kashmir Valley today. As Bhasin, author of 'A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370,' one of the 25 banned books, observes in a post on X, 'I've read most of these books & written one. They're well researched & not one glorifies terrorism which this govt claims to have ended.' Rather, it is New Delhi's policies that oppress and distance the Kashmiri people that are stirring anger again. Post-Pahalgam and post-Sindoor, the Modi government is on shaky ground in J&K. Its propaganda that its muscular policies in Kashmir were successful has been exposed. It is this insecurity that underlies the government's decision to ban the 25 books. As Bhasin wrote in her X post, the government is 'scared of words challenging… [its] lies!' Six years after the Modi government revoked J&K's autonomy, its insecurities have deepened.
