J&K government withdraws school library books, suspends 8 officials over 'inappropriate' separatist content

The Jammu and Kashmir government has withdrawn two books from school libraries, citing “highly inappropriate content” related to separatism. Eight officials from the school education department have been suspended, and one contractual employee has been terminated, following the discovery of the disputed material.

The books in question are ‘Personalities and Legends of J&K’ by Hilal Ahmed and Santosh Meena, and ‘Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir’ by Dr Sushant Giri. Published by Oberoi Book Service, Jammu, and Anurag Prakashan, Delhi, they were supplied to school libraries as part of the Samagra Shiksha programme for higher secondary classes.

An order by Ram Niwas Sharma, Commissioner/Secretary of the School Education Department, stated that the books contained references with the “potential to create law-and-order issues”. The order also noted that their selection reflected “serious negligence, dereliction of duty and lack of due diligence”.

The government has blacklisted the authors and their publishing houses from producing any further educational material in the Union Territory. According to official figures, 123 copies of the first book had been distributed to schools in Jammu, Ramban, and Udhampur districts, while 128 copies of the second were supplied in Jammu and Baramulla districts.

The suspended officials include Fazil Imran Saddiqui, Coordinator Library, Samagra Shiksha; Gurjeet Singh, Assistant Coordinator; Sanjeev Sharma, Principal of Government Higher Secondary School, Kore Pannu in Kathua; Shazia Kouser, Academic Officer, SCERT, Jammu; Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir, Lecturer at Boys Higher Secondary School, Wathoora, Budgam; Niranjan Sharma, Lecturer at GHSS, Badhat in Kishtwar; Renu Mengi, Lecturer at DIET, Jammu; and Rajmohini, Lecturer at GGHSS, Poonch. During their suspension, these officials will remain attached to the Administrative Department (School Education Department).

The contractual employee terminated is Sheikh Suheel Ahmad, a computer assistant who had been assisting the library coordinator.

One of the suspended officials, Gurjeet Singh, denied involvement, saying he was “merely a teacher” and had no role in book selection. “I was asked by the authorities to assist the library coordinator by getting him material like stationery. I know nothing about the contents of the book,” he said.

Inder Pal Singh, proprietor of Oberoi Book Service, said the book ‘Personalities and Legends of Jammu and Kashmir’ had been originally published by a Delhi-based house in 2017. “We approached the publishers to allow us to print it under our name,” he said. “The publishing house reprinted copies of the book under our name in 2024 and sent those to us for Samagra Shiksha.” He claimed to be unaware of the book’s contents.

The government has set up a high-level inquiry headed by Financial Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumar, who has 30 days to submit a report.

The books reportedly contained chapters describing separatist figures such as Maqbool Bhat, co-founder of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, as a “shaheed” (martyr) and detailing his life in a manner that some deem glorifying. The content also discussed Hashim Qureshi, who hijacked an Indian Airlines plane in 1971, in a similar vein.