Pages that Frighten Power: The Banned Literature of Kashmir

Invoking Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, the State Department of the Government in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir recently ordered the forfeiture of 25 scholarly books, citing them as ‘seditious’ or ‘anti-national.’ Applicable to the Union Territory of J&K, the law provides legal cover for suppressing dissenting literature. This action marks the third phase of such censorship, following earlier bans imposed by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, and extends beyond Kashmir to prohibit the possession, circulation, and distribution of these works across India—signaling a broader effort to silence alternative narratives. [i]   This review essay featuring these 25 works has been divided into two parts. The following part, i.e. second part covers reviews remaining 12 books. The first part, published in Policy Perspectives Vol 22, Issue 2 (2025) featured reviews of 13 books.   [i]    “Bookstore raids in Kashmir by police prompt widespread criticism,” Al Jazeera, February 19, 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/2/19/police-in-disputed-kashmir-raid-bookstores-seizing-books