Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha suspended eight School Education Department officials after two library books allegedly glorifying separatists and convicted terrorists were found in government schools.
The government withdrew the books, banned their authors and publishers, and cited negligence and lack of due diligence in approving the titles.
An inquiry has been ordered to investigate how the books were cleared for distribution, while the BJP described the episode as "academic jihad."
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday suspended eight officials of the School Education Department and removed a contractual staffer after two books distributed in government school libraries allegedly glorified separatist leaders and convicted terrorists.
The School Education Department has also withdrawn the two books from circulation and banned their authors and publishers pending further action.
Books Withdrawn, Publishers Banned
In an official order, the department said the books "Personalities and Legends of J&K", authored by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena and published by Oberoi Book Service, Jammu, and "Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir", authored by Sushant Giri and published by Anurag Prakashan, Delhi, were withdrawn on Friday.
The government also barred the authors and publishers of the books.
The books allegedly contained content praising separatist leaders and convicted terrorists, including Maqbool Bhat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam and Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Government Cites Negligence
According to the government order, the books contained "highly inappropriate content" and pointed to serious negligence in the process through which they were recommended for government school libraries.
"It has come to the notice of the department that these books have highly inappropriate content. It is quite evident that there was serious negligence, dereliction of duty and lack of proper due diligence... while recommending such books which contained content related to separatism, which has the potential for creating law and order situations," the order said.
Based on these findings, eight officials and supervisory staff of the School Education Department were suspended with immediate effect under Rule 31(1)(a) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956.
BJP Calls It 'Academic Jihad'
Leader of the Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and BJP MLA Sunil Sharma described the episode as "academic jihad," alleging that the books were intended to influence young minds.
In response, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has appointed Ashwani Kumar, Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary), Power Development Department, to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
The inquiry will examine how the books were approved and distributed to government school libraries.
