After BJP protest, J&K orders schools to vet every book on campus

📌 Summary:

• J&K government directed heads of all government schools, recognised private schools and coaching centres in Kashmir to screen every book on their premises (libraries, offices, classrooms, staff rooms) for "inappropriate or objectionable content"

• Institution heads must submit certificates to Chief/Zonal Education Officers certifying that no book contains objectionable material — including content violating religious sentiments, against prevailing laws, or with "potential to harm national interest"

• Order issued July 6 by the Director School Education Kashmir; covers 10,787 government and 2,386 recognised private schools in the Kashmir division

• Trigger: BJP protests over procurement of books allegedly glorifying separatist leaders; follows the Home Department's August 2025 ban on 25 books on Kashmir (including works by Arundhati Roy and A G Noorani) for propagating "secessionism"

• Criticism across the political spectrum: NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said "libraries exist to preserve knowledge, not curate political narratives"; PDP's Waheed Para called it an attempt to "rewrite collective memory" and promote selective learning

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Governance/Education — state regulation of educational content; tension between national-security concerns and academic freedom, free speech (Art 19) and critical thinking in education

🔑 Key Term: Academic freedom — the liberty of educational institutions and scholars to teach, study and pursue knowledge without undue political interference