SRINAGAR: Police in India-occupied Kashmir have raided dozens of bookshops and seized hundreds of copies of books by Maulana Maududi, sparking angry reactions from Muslim leaders.

Police said searches were based on “credible intelligence regarding the clandestine sale and distribution of literature promoting the ideology of a banned organisation”. Officials did not name the author, but store owners said they had seized literature by the late Abul Ala Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-i-Islami.

The Indian government banned the held Kashmir branch of Jamaat-i-Islami in 2019, describing it as an “unlawful association”. New Delhi renewed the ban last year for what it said were “activities against the security, integrity and sovereignty” of the nation.

Plainclothes officers began raids in Srinagar on Saturday, before launching book seizures in other towns across the region. “They (police) came and took away all the copies of books authored by Abul Ala Maududi, saying these books were banned,” a bookshop owner in Srinagar said.

Foreign Office says Kashmiris should be given freedom to read books of their choice

Police teams also carried out raids in some other parts of held Kashmir and conducted “stringent checks” of bookshops “to prevent the circulation of banned literature linked to Jamaat-i-Islami”, a police statement said.

Police said the searches were conducted “to prevent the circulation of banned literature linked to Jamaat-i-Islami”. “These books were found to be in violation of legal regulations, and strict action is being taken against those found in possession of such material,” police said in a statement.

The raids sparked anger among supporters of the party. “The seized books promote good moral values and responsible citizenship,” said Shamim Ahmed Thokar.

Umar Farooq, occupied Kashmir’s chief cleric and a prominent leader advocating for the right to self-determination, condemned the police action. “Cracking down on Islamic literature and seizing them from bookstores is ridiculous,” Umar Farooq said in a statement, pointing out that the literature was available online.

“Policing thought by seizing books is absurd — to say the least — in the time of access to all information on virtual highways,” he said.

Critics and many residents say civil liberties were drastically curtailed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government imposed direct rule in 2019 by scrapping held Kashmir’s constitutionally enshrined special status.

Several Jamaat leaders, who contested a recent local election, called the seizure of these books “unjust, unconstitutional and a violation of fundamental rights”.

In a statement reported by Al Jazeera, they said the seized books were legally published in New Delhi and were being lawfully distributed to bookstores across the region.

Pakistan’s reaction

The foreign ministry in Islamabad said it was “the latest step in a series of measures to crush dissent and to intimidate the local people”.

“They must be given freedom to read the books of their choice,” spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2025