J&K Govt Screens 21.81 Lakh Books in College Libraries, Withdraws 4,812
J&K government says 21.81 lakh books screened in college libraries since July, 4,812 withdrawn, and 1,752 referred for expert examination.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has screened 21.81 lakh books in college libraries across the Union Territory since July and withdrawn 4,812 of them, the Assembly was told on Tuesday.
Of the books screened, 12.48 lakh were in the Kashmir division and 9.32 lakh in the Jammu division. The withdrawals included 518 banned books and 4,249 non-banned books, according to the government's reply. A further 1,752 books were referred to the Director, Colleges, for expert examination.
The government said the exercise of scrutinising objectionable books and material for withdrawal is still in progress and described it as a laborious process that may take more time. It stated that clear and objective criteria have been adopted for identifying objectionable material in college libraries.
Explaining the rationale, the government said higher education institutions are centres of learning, research and academic excellence and are expected to foster an environment upholding constitutional values, academic freedom, critical thinking, scientific temper, responsible citizenship and respect for the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
The reply came in response to a question from Awami Ittehad Party legislator Sheikh Khursheed, who sought to know whether a clear and objective criteria existed for identifying objectionable material through scrutiny of books in colleges.
The screening follows a July directive to all Heads of Institutions of government schools, recognised private schools and coaching institutions to conduct a comprehensive review of books to ensure none contained inappropriate or objectionable content. The order said material that could violate the religious sentiments of any section, contravene prevailing laws or harm national interest should be identified.
The move came after two books published under the library grant of the Centre's Samagra Shiksha scheme allegedly carried inappropriate and objectionable content. The books were "Personalities and Legends of J&K", authored by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena, and "Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir", authored by Dr. Sushant Giri. One of them profiled separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam and Maqbool Bhat.
Earlier, 25 books by authors including Christopher Snedden, A.G. Noorani, Sumantra Bose, Ayesha Jalal, Sugata Bose, Arundhati Roy, Stephen P. Cohen, Anuradha Bhasin and Seema Qazi were officially banned in J&K for allegedly exciting secession, endangering the integrity of India and propagating a false narrative and secessionism in the region.