Srinagar, August 07 , 2025: In yet another move to tighten its grip on the Kashmir narrative, the Indian government has banned 25 books in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, branding them a threat to “India’s integrity.”
The banned titles include works by prominent Kashmiri, Indian, and international authors such as Hafsa Kanjwal, Mohammad Yosuf Saraf, Victoria Schofield, Ather Zia, A.G. Noorani, Arundhati Roy, Anuradha Bhasin, Sumantra Bose, Christopher Snedden and Moulana Maududi. The books document lived experiences, resistance movements, and the political aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
In a sweeping move to throttle intellectual freedom and suppress the truth about the Kashmir dispute, India has ordered the confiscation of 25 books in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, claiming they pose a threat to “India’s integrity”.
Civil society, academics and rights groups have condemned the ban as part of a broader strategy to silence Kashmiri voices, whitewash India’s crimes, and control the territory’s narrative through brute censorship.
The banned books include critical works authored by reputed Kashmiri, Indian, and international writers. These are:
- Human Rights Violations in Kashmir – Piotr Balcerowicz & Agnieszka Kuszewska (Routledge/Manohar)
- Kashmir’s Fight for Freedom – Mohd Yosuf Saraf (Feroze Sons, Pakistan)
- Colonizing Kashmir – Hafsa Kanjwal
- Kashmir Politics and Plebiscite – Dr. Abdul Jabbar (Gulshan Books, Kashmir)
- Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? – Essar Batool et al. (Zubaan Books)
- Mujahid ki Azaan – Edited by Maulana Mohammad Enayatullah Subhani (Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi)
- Al Jihadul fil Islam – Maulana Maududi (Darul Musannifeen, Delhi)
- Independent Kashmir – Christopher Snedden (Manchester University Press/Sanctum Books)
- Resisting Occupation in Kashmir – Haley Duschinski, Ather Zia, Mona Bhan & Cynthia Mahmood (UPenn Press)
- Between Democracy and Nation: Gender and Militarization in Kashmir – Seema Kazi (Oxford University Press)
- Contested Lands – Sumantra Bose
- In Search of a Future: The Story of Kashmir – David Devadas
- Kashmir in Conflict – Victoria Schofield
- The Kashmir Dispute (1947–2012) – A.G. Noorani
- Kashmir at the Crossroads – Sumantra Bose
- A Dismantled State – Anuradha Bhasin (HarperCollins India)
- Resisting Disappearance – Ather Zia (Zubaan Books)
- Confronting Terrorism – Edited by Maroof Raza & Stephen Cohen (Penguin India)
- Freedom in Captivity – Radhika Gupta (Cambridge University Press)
- Kashmir: The Case for Freedom – Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhatt, Angana P. Chatterji, Pankaj Mishra & Arundhati Roy (Verso Books)
- Azadi – Arundhati Roy (Penguin India)
- USA and Kashmir – Dr. Shamshad Shan (Gulshan Books)
- Law & Conflict Resolution in Kashmir – Piotr Balcerowicz & Agnieszka Kuszewska (Routledge/Manohar)
- Tarikh‑i‑Siyasat Kashmir – Dr. Afaq (Karwan‑e‑Tahqiq‑o‑Saqafat Kashmir)
- Kashmir & the Future of South Asia – Edited by Sugata Bose & Ayesha Jalal (Routledge/Manohar)