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Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting on July 7, directing authorities to conduct a comprehensive audit of educational institutions across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In the meeting, he directed officials to identify and remove books and publications containing what the administration described as “anti-national, separatist or objectionable content.”

The L-G administration has also ordered universities, colleges, schools and libraries to certify that no such material exists on their premises. In the order, the heads of institutions have been warned that they will be held personally responsible for any lapses and will face strict legal action.

According to the statement, officials during the meeting informed the administration that books allegedly glorifying separatism had been recovered from some educational institutions. The L-G directed the establishment of a robust mechanism for future procurement of academic material, including periodic reviews by educationists, intellectuals and senior officials to prevent objectionable literature from making its way into educational institutions. Digital repositories and university websites have also been brought under scrutiny.

The move follows an ongoing investigation into the circulation of around 251 controversial copies of two books titled Personalities and Legends of J&K, co-authored by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena (Oberoi Book Service, Jammu), and Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir, authored by Sushant Giri and published by Anurag Prakashan, Delhi. The government suspended eight officials and blacklisted the authors and publishers over the books’ contents.

The books were among 463 titles approved from 364 publishers in the UT for distribution to 18,328 government schools and 394 PM SHRI schools under the Union government’s Samagra Shiksha scheme, following recommendations by expert committees.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) teams questioned the Samagra Shiksha director and other officials at Channi Himmat on Jammu’s outskirts, while another team searched a publisher’s office in Noida. However, police made no arrests and issued no official statement.

The case has been registered under Sections 49 (abetment), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), 196 (promoting enmity, disharmony) and 353 (publishing, or circulating false........

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