PVLF 2025

J&K Police Seize 600 Jamaat Books, Triggers Controversy

J&K Police seize 600 Jamaat-e-Islami books in valley-wide raids, igniting a political controversy. Stay updated on the latest developments.
on Feb 17, 2025

The police force conducted raids on bookshops throughout Kashmir and seized books written by Jamaat founder Abul A'la Maududi and Amin Ahsan Islahi.

During another operation early on Sunday, February 16, Handwara district police carried out massive search operations in many bookshops in sensitive areas of Kralgund, Villgam, Qalamabad and the main town and seized hundreds of religious literature books of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The police reported that vendors of such materials violated legal regulations and made stern warnings of the legal consequences of possessing or selling prohibited publications.

The law enforcement encouraged people to inform them if any efforts to disseminate the prohibited books were made.

"Banned JeI literature seized in PD Handwara. Shop owners warned legal action is underway. Citizens are urged to report violations," the police posted on X.

More than 600 religious books seized

The Jammu and Kashmir Police this week launched an extensive search operation throughout the Kashmir valley and seized more than 600 religious books which authorities claimed were propagating the ideology of the outlawed Jamaat-e-Islami outfit.

The authorities made the first raid in the summer capital Srinagar where hundreds of books were confiscated from various bookstores. Around 3:30 pm on Thursday, February 13, a team of police officials raided the bookstore in Lal Chowk which is Srinagar's central business district.

The police team inquired about the types of books available during which they found books authored by Abul A’la Maududi and Amin Ahsan Islahi. The officers proceeded to confiscate all written works.

A majority of the seized books were reportedly published by MMI Publishers, a Delhi-based publishing house established in 1948.

Srinagar police statement

After the raids, the Srinagar police issued a statement on X, verifying that 668 books were confiscated following credible intelligence regarding the "illegal" circulation of Jamaat-e-Islami religious literature. Legal action has begun under Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023.

Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) addresses wrongful restraint and maintaining peace.

Political responses and opposition

The police crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami books throughout the valley has raised political controversy. People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti has stated that the police raids are an assault on the "freedom to read.".

"Days after a security review meeting in Delhi brutal raids were carried out across book shops in Srinagar. In the guise of 'security' all kinds of Kafkaesque repressive tactics are being let loose on Kashmiris. Now even the right to read & consume information is being breached. Are we just sheep or cattle that have to be driven?", she posted on X.

The elephant in the room as far as these book raids are concerned is that all 600 of the books seized have been written by Abul Aala Maududi a celebrated Islamic scholar & more importantly the founder of Jamaat – -e – Islami. A religious organisation which has done excellent social work in Kashmir & also contested the recently conducted state elections", Mufti wrote in another post.

Member of Parliament and senior National Conference leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi also criticized the police action, calling them interference in religious affairs.

"If that wasn't bad enough, the police are reportedly confiscating the writings of Maulana Maududi (RA). Will the state now determine what Kashmiris read, study, and think? This is a gross excess. If the order exists, it should be withdrawn forthwith", he wrote on X.

Organizations ban under anti-terror laws

Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir utilized these books as their foundational literature until the BJP-led Union government banned the books and the organisation on February 28, 2019, under anti-terror laws. The authorities imposed the ban on books two weeks after the Pulwama terror attack in which a suicide bomber attacked a Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) convoy which resulted in the deaths of at least 40 troopers.

Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) the Indian government renewed the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for another five years in 2024, charging the group with aiding terrorist activities and inciting anti-India propaganda.

Who was Abul A'la Maududi ?

Jamaat-e-Islami School of Thought organization was established by Islamic historian and scholar Abul A'la Maududi born in British India's Aurangabad city of the state of Maharashtra. He was also a politician and strongly protested against the division of India.

But after the partition, he shifted to Pakistan and founded Jamaat-e-Islami on August 266, 1941, at Islamia Park, Lahore. Then he became an illustrious chapter in Pakistani history.

The Jammu and Kashmir branch of the organization was formed in 1952. Scholar Amin Ahsan Islahi became a founding member of Jamaat along with other well-known scholars.

Historical background of Jamaat-e-Islami bans

This is not the first time Jamaat-e-Islami has been restricted in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The organisation was banned for the first time during the Emergency in 1975 when JKNC leader Sheikh Abdullah was the Chief Minister of J&K in the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Historians say that Sheikh Abdullah viewed Jamaat-e-Islami as a political threat.

The organization encountered another ban order in the early 1990s when Kashmir witnessed intense militant insurgency and its activists were attacked and murdered by the government-supported terrorist outfit Ikhwan.

The ban on the organization was lifted in 2004 during the reign of PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed after he forged a government coalition alliance with Congress.

Jamaat's role in recent J&K election

The traditional electoral boycott policy of Jamaat-e-Islami changed when some of its former members participated in the 2024 assembly election process in Jammu and Kashmir.

The organization presented itself as more willing to participate in politics when its former general secretary Ghulam Qadir Lone initiated dialogue with the Union government about removing the ban.

But the current leadership of the outfit headed by President Hameed Fayaz had opposed the negotiations. Fayaz has been in jail since 2019 following Kashmir's loss of special status of Article 370.

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