Srinagar: Outrage continues over a book allegedly glorifying separatist leaders and terrorists that has been distributed to government school libraries in Jammu and Kashmir under the under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme.
The state’s chief minister Omar Abdullah broke his silence on the controversy surrounding the and said that he was unaware of the publication and had “never heard of it.”
“I don’t know anything about the book. I have never heard of it,” Abdullah said, as reported by Republic TV.
The book, Great Personalities and Legends of J&K (Series 4), portrays several separatist leaders and militants as “great personalities” and “legends” of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Forum (JKPF) objected to the contents of the publication, claiming it contains chapters on figures including Maqbool Bhat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam Bhat, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Maulvi Mohammad Farooq, while allegedly glorifying their roles and presenting what the organisation described as anti-India narratives.
The book refers to Maqbool Bhat as “Shaheed Maqbool Bhat” and “Shaheed-e-Azam”, describes Kashmir as “IOK” (Indian Occupied Kashmir), and includes references portraying security forces as “occupational forces”, advocate Raghu Mehta of JKPF alleged.
Such content could mislead students and promote separatist ideology, the organisation claimed.
It has also questioned how the publication was approved by the expert committee under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme and distributed to government and government-aided school libraries during the 2025-26 academic session.
The JKPF has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the book, seizure of all copies from school libraries, a high-level probe into the approval and procurement process, and action against the officials responsible for clearing the publication.
