Censorship order accuses books of promoting ‘false narrative and secessionism’ in disputed territory
The government in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has banned 25 books, including works by the Booker-prize winning author Arundhati Roy, accusing them of promoting a “false narrative and secessionism” in the disputed territory.
The censorship order was issued by Manoj Sinha, the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir, who was appointed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) under the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Sinha was previously a minister in Modi’s BJP government.
According to the directive issued by Jammu and Kashmir’s home ministry on Sinha’s instructions, it had “come to the notice of the government, that certain literature propagates false narrative and secessionism in Jammu and Kashmir”.
The 25 books named in the order range from historical narratives of the region by well-known academics, historians and journalists, both from Kashmir and abroad, to documentation of human rights atrocities committed in Kashmir.
