J&K: Omar government slams LG over book ban

SRINAGAR: J&K’s governing National Conference (NC) on Friday decried banning books as “unfortunate and deeply ill-conceived”, days after LG Manoj Sinha-led home department banned 25 titles, including some by Booker-prize winning author Arundhati Roy and constitutionalist AG Noorani.

The NC statement came with a reassurance that it was trying to see how the ban could be revoked under the Union Territory’s (UT) system of governance where the LG oversees such matters. Global rights organisation Amnesty also questioned the move. The home department has described the action as part of an ongoing crackdown on publications allegedly promoting secessionist ideologies, glorifying terrorism, or disseminating distorted historical narratives.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah responded to accusations that he had ordered the ban. “Get your facts right before you call me a coward, you ignoramus. The ban has been imposed by the LG using the only department he officially controls - the Home Department. I’ve never banned books & I never would,” Omar posted on X, responding to the allegations.

Following Tuesday’s order under section 98 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, police had on Thursday seized allegedly “subversive” books from stores and literary venues, including Chinar book festival on the banks of Dal Lake.

NC spokesman Tanvir Sadiq asked “why we are so afraid of differing opinions”. “History shows that banning books only fuels curiosity, people want to know why something is banned, and readership often increases as a result. Silencing or intimidating opinions never worked and it won’t work now,” Sadiq said.

Amnesty India stressed that of the 25 banned books, including Roy’s Azadi, many were written by respected journalists, historians, feminists, and peace scholars, and these weren’t “terror manuals” but “critical voices”. “Censoring books on the basis of an executive notification without due process and judicial oversight doesn’t bring peace; it silences dissent. When govts fear ideas, it tells you more about the state than the speech,” Amnesty said in a statement.

Thursday’s seizures included copies of A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370 by Anuradha Bhasin, The Kashmir Dispute, 1947–2012 by Noorani, and Kashmir at the Crossroads by Sumantra Bose.