Book Bans Raise Wider Questions About Democracy, Says Omar Abdullah
· India · The Hindu, Times of India
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated on Wednesday that withdrawing thousands of books from college libraries raises wider questions about democracy. Speaking in Srinagar, Mr. Abdullah said that elected governments do not currently get to decide on such administrative matters. The remarks followed a disclosure by the Jammu and Kashmir government in the Legislative Assembly that the Higher Education Department had withdrawn 4,812 objectionable books from college libraries after screening 21.81 lakh books since July. The removed texts included 518 banned books and 4,249 non-banned books, while 1,752 additional books were referred to the Director of Colleges for expert examination. Kashmir chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq described the withdrawal as disturbing and unfortunate, calling for the titles and specific reasons for removal to be made public.
Why it matters
The book withdrawals touch on academic freedom and governance transparency within higher education institutions in Jammu and Kashmir.
Read the original report — The Hindu
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