J&K Orders Education Audit After Controversial Books Found in School Libraries

J&K orders a statewide education audit, suspends eight officials, and bans two books after a controversy over alleged separatist content.
on Jul 09, 2026

A controversy regarding two books approved for use in the government schools libraries in Jammu and Kashmir is leading to a thorough review of the educational institutions and their libraries in the union territory.

The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, chaired a high-level meeting on the subject and asked the authorities to see to it that there was no educational book, journal, magazine, or any other literature containing objectionable, anti-national, or separatist literature in schools, colleges, universities, or libraries in the Union Territory.

There are two controversial books - one Personalities and Legends of J&K, written by Dr. Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena and published by Oberoi Book Service, Jammu and Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir, written by Dr. Suhant Giri and published by Aurora Prakashan, Delhi.

The problem with the two books is that both of them have chapters about the various separatists including Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, Masarat Alam, Abdul Gani Lone, Syed Ali Geelani, and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. The books have also mentioned Jammu and Kashmir as Indian Held Kashmir and Indian Occupied Kashmir.

The administrative authorities have suspended eight officials of the Education Department including principals, lecturers, academic officers, and library coordinators due to negligence on their part in the selection and approval of the books. The government has ordered an investigation which will be headed by Ashwani Kumar, Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) and he has to submit his findings within 30 days.

The government has put a ban on the writers and the publishers in Jammu and Kashmir and the printed material written by them or published by them has been withdrawn from the schools and colleges.

A comprehensive SoP was to be prepared for procurement of books and other academic material by the Lieutenant Governor. This SoP will ensure screening and a random check of the books at intervals of time by a team of educationists and intellectuals among others before approving them for use in educational institutions.

In addition to this, heads of schools, colleges, universities, and libraries have been asked to affirmatively state that there is nothing objectionable in their institutions. Extensive checks would be conducted, and it has been ordered by the university authorities to check on their websites and electronic repositories and remove anything objectionable if found.

The government has further reorganized distinct verification committees for the Jammu and Kashmir areas to again check on all the books acquired through the 2025-26 Library Component. It has been mandated on these committees that the educational material should promote constitutional values, national unity, scientific temper, and unbiased historical perspective.

At the same time, the Counter Intelligence wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has filed an FIR and made raids in this regard. The charges have been booked under several sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity, and prejudicing the sovereignty and integrity of India are some of the charges booked.

This row has attracted criticism from all over the political arena, with the ruling parties National Conference, Congress, and BJP seeking proper action against the guilty parties.

Responding to the matter, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha once again made it clear that educational institutions have to continue being centers of learning and constitutionalism and nation building, stressing that there will be no tolerance whatsoever of attempts to brainwash children using objectionable/extremist materials.