Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 4

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday suspended eight officials of the School Education Department, ordered a high-level inquiry and blacklisted the authors and publishers of two books approved for government school libraries after authorities said the publications contained “highly inappropriate content related to separatism” that had the potential to disturb public order.

The action came a day after the School Education Department withdrew the two books from circulation following mounting criticism from political parties and civil society groups over the inclusion of chapters on several separatist leaders in publications distributed under the Centre-sponsored Samagra Shiksha programme.

The Lieutenant Governor also ordered the immediate disengagement of a contractual computer assistant associated with the procurement process and appointed a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to investigate how the books were approved for distribution in government schools.

According to an order issued by the School Education Department on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor, the suspended officials have been charged with “serious negligence, dereliction of duty” and failure to exercise due diligence while recommending books for higher secondary school libraries.

The government appointed Ashwani Kumar, Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary), Power Development Department, as the inquiry officer and directed him to submit his findings within 30 days. Rohit Sharma, an Additional Secretary in the General Administration Department, was named presenting officer for the disciplinary proceedings.

Authorities also ordered a ban and blacklisting of the authors and publishers of the two publications – 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.

The order further directed that any material authored or published by the individuals or publishing houses be withdrawn from the Union Territory.

The controversy centres on the procurement of books under Samagra Shiksha, the Union government’s flagship school education programme, which provides grants to government schools for strengthening libraries and improving educational infrastructure.

According to the government, expressions of interest were invited for the procurement of age-appropriate books for more than 18,000 government schools and nearly 400 PM SHRI schools across Jammu and Kashmir.

Four expert committees comprising academicians and education specialists from the Jammu and Kashmir divisions were constituted to evaluate books for different school levels, ranging from primary to higher secondary classes.

The committees shortlisted 463 books submitted by 364 publishers.

Officials said the two disputed publications were part of the higher secondary category recommended by the committee responsible for senior classes.

The government said the books came under scrutiny on July 3 after objections were raised over portions of their content, prompting authorities to withdraw them through separate departmental orders issued the same day.

According to official records, 123 copies of Personalities and Legends of J&K had already been supplied to schools in Jammu, Ramban and Udhampur districts, while 128 copies of Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir were distributed to institutions in Jammu and Baramulla districts before the withdrawal order.

School Education Department Commissioner Secretary Ram Niwas Sharma, in the suspension order, said the presence of content relating to separatism reflected a serious failure by members of the expert committee and supervisory officers entrusted with evaluating educational material.

“It has come to the notice of the department that these books have highly inappropriate content,” the order said, adding that the lapses amounted to serious negligence and misconduct unbecoming of government servants.

The eight suspended officials include a coordinator and assistant coordinator associated with Samagra Shiksha, a government higher secondary school principal, an academic officer of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), and four lecturers posted in different districts. They will remain attached to the School Education Department during the period of suspension.

The controversy first surfaced after the Jammu Kashmir Peoples’ Forum (JKPF), describing itself as a social and non-political organisation, alleged that one of the books portrayed several separatist leaders as prominent personalities of Jammu and Kashmir despite their opposition to India’s sovereignty over the region.

The organisation claimed the publication contained dedicated chapters on individuals including Maqbool Bhat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Maulvi Farooq.

In a representation to the administration, JKPF alleged that the book glorified people it described as separatists and terrorists and urged the Lieutenant Governor to initiate criminal proceedings against those responsible for approving and procuring the publication under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.

The issue quickly escalated into a political controversy, with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee demanding accountability and removal of the books from government libraries.

The administration’s decision to suspend officials, initiate disciplinary proceedings and blacklist the authors and publishers came hours after political pressure intensified over the issue.

The episode has also raised wider questions about the process followed for vetting educational material procured for government schools, with the inquiry expected to examine whether established scrutiny mechanisms were followed before the books were approved and distributed.