On February 14, in Indian-administered Kashmir, booksellers looked on with apprehension as police raided shops in Srinagar, scanning shelves for restricted titles.

In a series of raids across the valley, plainclothes policemen seized more than 600 books — reigniting debate over mounting censorship in the region.

This time, many of the confiscated books were linked to Abul Ala Maududi, the Muslim scholar, and a key architect of modern Islamic political thought who founded Jamaat-e-Islami in 1941 in British India. After migrating to Pakistan post-partition, his influence shaped Islamic discourse. Maududi was a prolific writer. He received the first Faisal Award for Islamic literature. His work continues to inspire various Islamic movements globally.

The organisation’s local branch, Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, has long been critical of New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir valley because of which it has faced multiple bans.

In February 2019, India banned the group as an “unlawful association” under the notorious Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

This move came in August 2019, months before India revoked the Muslim majority region’s semi-autonomous status.

Following the ban, authorities sealed properties tied to the group — including schools, offices, and welfare institutions. Members were arrested under so-called Public Safety Act (PSA) and UAPA, while others were forced to go underground to avoid detention. Police raids on homes in search of Jamaat literature and publications have become routine, according to the organisation’s former members.

Last year, the Indian government extended the ban for five more years, alleging its involvement in “secessionism” and anti-India propaganda.

When TRT World approached booksellers in the valley, most declined to speak on the record, fearing legal repercussions. Those who did talk said they had never faced issues selling these books, which are legally published by registered publishers.

“Most of them are published from Delhi and have been in existence since 1948. Among them are titles considered essential literature for Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir,” said one Srinagar bookseller, requesting anonymity.

The confiscated books included titles such as Khilafat wa Malukiyat (Caliphate and Kingship), Fundamentals of Islam, Purdah (The Veil), Khutbaat (Sermons), and Towards Understanding Islam.

Books like Fundamentals of Islam include an understanding of five pillars of Islam, belief in Allah and the Quran. Towards Understanding Islam explains the basic principles of Islamic beliefs, and Purdah focuses on gender roles, and importance of modesty in Islamic teachings. 

The police in the Indian-administered Kashmir justified the raids, stating: “During the intensive search, several book shops were inspected, and multiple copies of banned books were recovered and subsequently seized. These books were found to be in violation of legal regulations, and strict action is being taken against those found in possession of such material. The operation was aimed at curbing the spread of unlawful content that could disturb public order.”

Police said legal proceedings have also been initiated under Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

Since the revocation of Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status in 2019, Kashmir has faced intensified religious repression, with crackdowns on Islamic literature and restrictions on places of worship like the historic Jamia Mosque even for mandatory Friday prayers. 

In line with systemic repression, authorities claim that books tied to Jamaat-e-Islami, influenced by Maududi’s ideas on Muslim identity, could promote banned ideologies.

Indian-administered Kashmir is India’s only state which has a Muslim majority. The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan with each country claiming the territory in full. The region has been a source of four wars and acrimony between the two nuclear-armed fratricidal neighbours. 

Pledge against publications

Booksellers were summoned, questioned, and asked to submit affidavits pledging not to sell specific titles. Yet the same books remain freely available online through platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.

“We had no idea this would happen,” another bookseller told TRT World. “As soon as news of the seizures spread, many of us started returning the books to suppliers in Delhi. No one wants to take the risk. Business is already tough due to new rules and compliances, and now we are expected to self-censor,” he said.

He added: “The way the authorities acted — randomly sending someone with a list of books, including general knowledge titles, and then seizing them, has created an atmosphere of doubt and fear among sellers. They now worry about the risk of legal trouble, leading them to self-regulate what they keep in stock.”

No official notification regarding the ban has been issued, and booksellers say they received no formal notice.

“It’s not just about these books,” another seller observed. “You start seeing the larger pattern. First, it’s books. Then, it’s something else.”

The raids have sparked sharp criticism across the valley, deepening concerns over freedom of expression.

National Conference leader Agha Syed Ruhullah tweeted: “Interference in the religious affairs of Kashmiri Muslims is crossing a red line — it is blatant state oppression and intolerance.”

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a prominent religious leader, denounced the police action: “Cracking down on Islamic literature and seizing them from bookstores is ridiculous,” he said in a statement. “All these are available online.”

Microcosm of control

Political analysts and activists see the raids as part of a broader pattern of state control over Kashmir’s intellectual and historical narratives, especially post-2019.

“The crackdown on books appears to be part of a larger pattern of controlling the historical and intellectual narrative in Kashmir,” said Tahir Sayeed, a former columnist. “By restricting access to certain books, authorities are shaping what is deemed acceptable discourse and erasing alternative perspectives,” he told TRT World.

The timing is notable, coming amid internal divisions within Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir over participation in electoral politics, particularly since the 2024 assembly elections.

While some former members, under the newly formed Justice and Development Front (JDF), are contesting local elections, others see this shift as a betrayal of Jamaat’s ideological stance.

A former Jamaat leader described what he sees as a larger project to dilute Kashmir’s Muslim identity.

“In Kashmir, every symbol of Muslim identity is under attack. As part of India’s project, the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir was initially banned, and now a process is underway to metamorphose its huge Islamist constituency and reduce it to a mere pro-India political voter class engaged in an imaginary power struggle,” he told TRT World.

Academics, too, echo concerns that such crackdowns could prove counterproductive.

Noor Ahmad Baba, a political expert, explained that since 2019, the Indian government has taken measures to prevent what it calls “radicalisation”, including purging certain literature from bookshops and syllabi.

“One such initiative has focused on preventing what the state believes is “youth radicalisation” in all forms,” Baba adds.

Activists say the definition of “radicalisation” has expanded to include peaceful political activism, journalism, academic discourse, and even religious practices. Journalists and members of civil society have faced frequent arrests and movement restrictions, advocacy groups report. 

“Removing certain types of literature from bookshops and academic syllabi is based on the belief that they could promote such thinking,” Baba said.

Baba warned that blanket bans “without thorough critical evaluation are often undesirable and can even be counterproductive.”

“Moreover, this measure will have only a limited impact,” Baba said. “While confiscation of these books may restrict their availability in physical form, much of it will remain accessible online. And hard copies continue to be available outside Jammu & Kashmir.”

Long shadow of censorship

Since 2019, there’s been an alarming rise in human rights repression. Critics have faced opaque “no-fly lists,” and entry denials into the territory. 

The grip of censorship has further tightened around media and academia in the region.

In 2023, Kashmir University and Cluster University, quietly removed works by prominent writers like Agha Shahid Ali and Basharat Peer from their Master’s curricula.

Kashmir University’s curriculum included three poems from Shahid’s oeuvre: Postcard from Kashmir, In Arabic, and The Last Saffron exploring themes of displacement and identity, which were excluded from the Master’s program. Peer’s  Curfewed Night, an internationally acclaimed memoir, was removed despite its prize-winning reportage.

Cluster University Srinagar became the second institution to remove works, having included two of Ali’s poems in its curriculum. His poems, “I See Kashmir from New Delhi at Midnight” and “Call Me Ishmael Tonight,” express a longing for Kashmir’s beauty and peace while blending Eastern influences with classic Western literature.

The decision to drop Ali’s and Peer’s works sparked a local debate on freedom of expression and cultural representation in Kashmir.

The universities claimed that "resistance literature" in the syllabus promotes a "secessionist mindset, aspiration, and narrative" among students.

The students speaking to TRT World said such works—classified as “literature of resistance and dissent” were removed without any explanation.

“There was no depth in discussion in classes, and we all had a lack of trust with each other due to fear. Studying literature in Kashmir now means knowing that some things are off-limits,” said Faiz, a recent graduate from Kashmir University.

Zahra, another student, recounted asking a professor about the book bans. “He told me that banning books was necessary to maintain peace,” she said. “But how can books threaten peace? There are no weapons involved, no stones… By removing the course, you are making it obvious why you are doing it,” she said.