India Raids Kashmir Bookstores After Banning Arundhati Roy, Other Authors
Srinagar — Police in Indian-administered Kashmir launched a wave of raids on bookstores and street vendors Thursday, days after authorities banned 25 books for allegedly promoting “secessionism” and “false narratives” about the disputed region, reported by Al Jazeera News.
Among the banned authors is internationally acclaimed writer Arundhati Roy, whose 2020 essay collection Azadi: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction was included in the list. The government order, issued on the six-year anniversary of India’s imposition of direct rule over Kashmir, claims the books incite unrest and mislead youth.
Authorities said the police operations aim to confiscate “materials promoting secessionist ideologies or glorifying terrorism.” Roadside vendors and shops in Srinagar and other cities were searched, though it remains unclear if any banned works were seized.
The list also includes scholarly works by historians and political scientists like Sumantra Bose, Christopher Snedden, Victoria Schofield, and constitutional expert A.G. Noorani. These books are now declared “forfeit” under India’s new criminal code, making their possession or sale a punishable offense.
Bose, whose book Kashmir at the Crossroads was banned, defended his work: “My chief objective has always been to identify pathways to peace,” he told Indian media. “I reject any defamatory slurs on my work.”
Critics argue the crackdown is part of a broader campaign to silence dissent and control historical narratives in Kashmir, a region disputed by India and Pakistan since 1947. Violent insurgency against Indian rule has simmered since 1989.
Historian Siddiq Wahid called the move unconstitutional, warning it undermines freedom of expression. “These are works by scholars whose arguments are grounded in research, logic, and evidence,” he told AFP.
Chief cleric and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned the ban as authoritarian, saying, “Banning books won’t erase lived experiences or historical facts.”
The raids come just months after Kashmir held its first local elections since losing semi-autonomy in 2019. Despite opposition victories, real power remains with New Delhi’s appointed administrator.
