Of Kashmir and Literature: The Words They Tried to Silence
The second edition of the Kashmir Literature Festival, a two-day event organised by Srikula Foundation, is scheduled for Oct 11 and 12, 2025, at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Srinagar.
Kashmir Literature Festival is envisaged to be a program where “events become stories, and culture becomes the driving force.” Registrations are open, and more information can be found on their website.
One cannot hear the words ‘Kashmir’ and ‘Literature’ without immediately being reminded of the recent book ban.
On August 5, 2025, the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Home Department issued an order, S.O. 203 of 2025, banning and forfeiting 25 titles. (The complete list is given at the end of this article.) The reasons for the ban, specified in the order, are ‘propagating false narratives and secessionism’, ‘glorifying terrorism’ and ‘inciting violence against the Indian State’, among others.
Invoking Section 98 of Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and sections 152, 196 & 197 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the order declares these 25 books and their copies as forfeited to the government.
The notification is also copied to the Director of Libraries, J&K, implying that the books be removed from library shelves and catalogues, and circulation halted.
The order was issued on the sixth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which had granted special status, or autonomy, to Jammu and Kashmir. Since August 5, 2019, J&K has been placed under the central government which has actively curbed dissent and uprising.
The banned books include historical and political analyses written by renowned writers, journalists, historians, and brought out by reputed publishing houses.
Ironically, the book ban was announced while the state sponsored Chinar Book Festival 2025 was in progress, in Srinagar.
A book ban—or any kind of censorship—is not new to Kashmir. In January of this year, certain Islamic books were banned and seized, most of which were written by Abul Ala Maududi, who founded the organization Jamaat-e-Islami, a banned organisation.
Does a book ban really solve a larger issue? Or is it merely a display of authority?
If anything, it ignites curiosity among those the book hasn’t yet touched and encourages clandestine reading. Halting the distribution of a book does not extinguish ideas or actively prevent discourse.
However, it does restrict the right to read and access information.
A ban is one form of censorship on freedom of expression those in power have exercised historically, to convey their displeasure, to curb people’s opinions, to supress dissent. Controlling the circulation of books is an attempt to control information and stifle independent thought.
The silencing of academics and scholars could lead to reduction in open discussions that are healthy and critical to the functioning of the state.
An unintended fallout of this is that some or all of these books could end up being recalled from circulation in other parts of the country, thus affecting authors, readers, researchers, students and publishers.
As the Internet Freedom Foundation points out in their statement, “There is no indication of any immediate public disorder caused by someone reading these works.”
One thing is for sure. A blanket ban is definitely not the answer to tackle issues related to ‘false narratives’ or ‘misguiding the youth’.
The following are the titles banned in Kashmir in August 2025
- Human Rights Violations in Kashmir: Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska
- Kashmiris Fight for Freedom: Mohd Yosuf Saraf
- Colonizing Kashmir: State-Building under Indian occupation: Hafsa Kanjwal
- Kashmir Politics and Plebiscite: Dr. Abdul Gockhami Jabbar
- Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora?: Essar Batool & others
- Mujahid ki Azan: Imam Hasan Al-Bana Shaheed, edited by Maulan Mohammad Enayatullah Subhani
- Al Jihadul fil Islam: Moulana Moudadi
- Independent Kashmir: Christopher Snedden
- Resisting Occupation in Kashmir: Haley Duschinski, Mona Bhan, Ather Zia and Cynthia Mahmood
- Between Democracy & Nation (Gender and Militarisation in Kashmir): Seema Kazi
- Contested Lands: Sumantra Bose
- In Search of a Future (The Story of Kashmir): David Devadas
- Kashmir in Conflict (India, Pakistan and the Unending War): Victoria Schofield
- The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012: A G Noorani
- Kashmir at the Crossroads (Inside a 21st-Century Conflict): Sumantra Bose
- A Dismantled State (The Untold Story of Kashmir after Article 370): Anuradha Bhasin
- Resisting Disappearance (Military Occupation & Women’s Activism in Kashmir): Ather Zia
- Confronting Terrorism: Edited by Maroof Raza
- Freedom in Captivity (Negotiations of belonging along Kashmiri Frontier): Radhika Gupta
- Kashmir (The Case for Freedom): Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhatt, Angana P. Chatterji, Pankaj Mishra and Arundhati Roy
- Azadi: Arundhati Roy
- USA and Kashmir: Dr. Shamshad Shan
- Law & Conflict Resolution in Kashmir: Piotr Balcerowicz and Agnieszka Kuszewska
- Tarikh-i-Siyasat Kashmir: Dr. Afaq
- Kashmir & the Future of South Asia: Edited by Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal
View the list of all books banned in India and other countries:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_in_India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_by_governments
About the Author:
Jeena R. Papaadi is the author of six books in English including novels, short stories and poetry. Her writings have appeared or are forthcoming in several distinguished publications including The Hindu, Borderless Journal, Usawa Literary Review, The Wise Owl, Kitaab and Aksharasthree. Jeena is based in Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram.
The Hemlock Journal 
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