Two books withdrawn over alleged separatism-related content; authors and publishers blacklisted, inquiry report sought within 30 days
Srinagar| July, 4: In one of the strongest disciplinary actions in recent years within the School Education Department, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday suspended eight officers and officials over the selection and distribution of library books allegedly containing “inappropriate” and “separatism-related” content in government schools, while ordering a high-level inquiry into the matter.
The action was taken through Government Order No. 257-JK(Edu) of 2026 after the School Education Department found serious lapses in the process adopted for recommending books under the Samagra Shiksha library programme.
According to the order, Samagra Shiksha had received library grants for the procurement of age-appropriate books for 1,832 government schools and 394 PM SHRI schools across Jammu and Kashmir. To facilitate the selection process, four expert committees comprising academicians from the Jammu and Kashmir divisions were constituted to recommend books for Primary, Upper Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary levels.
The government said the committees shortlisted 463 books submitted by 364 publishers. However, two of the selected books were subsequently found to contain “inappropriate” content and were withdrawn through separate departmental orders issued on July 3.
The books identified in the order are Personalities and Legends of J&K, authored by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena, and Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir, authored by Dr. Sushant Giri.
According to the government, 123 copies of the first title had already been supplied to schools in Jammu, Ramban and Udhampur districts, while 128 copies of the second title were distributed to institutions in Jammu and Baramulla districts.
The order states that the books allegedly contained material related to separatism and observed that members of the concerned expert committee, along with supervisory officers, failed to exercise due diligence while recommending them. “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 by the members of the Sub-Committee and supervisory officers while recommending such books, which contained content related to separatism and had the potential to create law and order situations,” the order said.
Pending completion of the inquiry, the government placed eight officials under suspension with immediate effect under the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956. The suspended officials are Fazil Imran Siddiqui, Coordinator Library, Samagra Shiksha; Gurjeet Singh, Assistant Coordinator, Samagra Shiksha; Sanjeev Sharma, Principal, Government Higher Secondary School Kore Punnu, Kathua; Shazia Kousar, Academic Officer, SCERT Jammu; Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir, Lecturer, BHSS Wathoora, Budgam; Niranjan Sharma, Lecturer, GHSS Badhat, Kishtwar; Renu Mengi, Lecturer, DIET Jammu; and Rajmohini, Lecturer, GDHSS Poonch. During the suspension period, the officials will remain attached to the Administrative Department of the School Education Department.
The Government also ordered the immediate disengagement of Sheikh Suheel Ahmad, a contractual Computer Assistant attached with Samagra Shiksha.
Ashwani Kumar, IAS, Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary), Power Development Department, has been appointed as the Inquiry Officer, while Rohit Sharma, JKAS, Additional Secretary to the Government, General Administration Department, will serve as the Presenting Officer. The inquiry report has been directed to be submitted within 30 days.
In a parallel action, the government ordered the banning and blacklisting of the authors and publishers of the two books and directed that all printed material authored or published by them be withdrawn from across the Union Territory. The disciplinary action comes a day after the School Education Department ordered the withdrawal of the two books, signalling a stringent response by the administration to alleged lapses in the vetting of educational material meant for government school libraries.
