Banning books raises wider questions about democracy: Omar Abdullah

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

A day after the Jammu and Kashmir government told the Legislative Assembly that it had withdrawn 4,767 “objectionable” books from J&K college libraries, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) said banning books raised wider questions about democracy and that the elected government did not get to decide on such matters. 

The J&K government on Tuesday (September 22) informed the Legislative Assembly that 21.81 lakh books were screened in college libraries since July. It said the Higher Education Department had withdrawn 4,767 books, including 518 banned books and 4,249 non-banned books, from the colleges. At least 1,752 books had been referred to the Director, Colleges, for expert examination, the government said.  

“Banning books raises a wider question: is this a way forward in a democracy? I have my own views on whether books should be banned or not. Unfortunately, in the current system, the elected government doesn’t get to decide on these things,” said Mr. Abdullah. He said the situation has to change “to take a fresh look” at such actions.

Earlier in the day, J&K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo reiterated that the banned books had no place in educational institutions. “This is a regular process. If there are any banned books, they should not be kept in government schools,” Mr. Dulloo said.

Meanwhile, Kashmir chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq described the withdrawal of books as “disturbing and unfortunate”.

“By withdrawing these books, whose agenda is the elected government implementing—its own or someone else’s? People deserve clarity on that,” said the Mirwaiz. “What exactly made these books objectionable? The titles and reasons for their removal must be made public,” he said.

The Mirwaiz said academic freedom in universities and colleges and access to diverse perspectives are “fundamental to education and the evolution of society”. He alleged attempts to “ideologically regulate what students can and cannot read, impoverishing learning and critical thought”.

“Transparency on such an important matter concerning educational institutions and access to knowledge is essential, and the people have a right to know the basis on which such a large number of books have been removed from circulation,” he added.

“The process of scrutiny of objectionable books/material to be withdrawn is in progress in the Department as the same is a laborious exercise and may take more time,” it said.

The move to launch a wider scrutiny came after two books, supplied under the library grant of the Centre’s Samagra Shiksha scheme, were allegedly found to contain “inappropriate” and “objectionable” content in July. 

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