The book, titled “Great Personalities and Legends of Jammu and Kashmir (Series 4)”, edited by Hilal Ahmed and Santosh Meena, is alleged to portray separatist figures and individuals convicted in terror-related cases, including Maqbool Bhat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam, and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, as role models.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Sunil Sharma, strongly condemned the publication, describing the development as “academic jihad” aimed at influencing young minds. He demanded immediate dismissal of Education Minister Sakina Itoo and the arrest of individuals responsible for recommending and distributing the book in school libraries.
Reacting to the allegations, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated that he has neither read nor seen the book, distancing himself from the controversy.
The issue was first flagged by the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum, which termed the publication a grave betrayal of families of security personnel who lost their lives in counter-terrorism operations. The organisation demanded an immediate ban on the book and criminal proceedings against those responsible.
Deepak Kapoor, a member of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum, stated that glorifying individuals involved in violence and militancy amounted to deeply offensive distortion, adding that it had severely hurt the sentiments of families of victims of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
The book is alleged to have been cleared under the Samagra Shiksha framework and distributed for the 2025–26 academic session, bearing the official Samagra Shiksha logo and circulated across school libraries in the Union Territory. The Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum has raised serious concerns regarding the approval process under the New Education Policy framework, questioning how an expert committee permitted inclusion of content described as misleading and objectionable toward the Indian state and security forces.
A chapter titled “Shahid Maqbool Bhat” is specifically under scrutiny for allegedly portraying Maqbool Bhat in glorifying terms such as a “revolutionary” and “Shaheed-e-Azam.” Maqbool Bhat was a convicted militant and murderer, sentenced to death in a murder case and executed at Tihar Jail on 11 February 1984 after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction.
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Abhijeet Jasrotia termed the development shocking and unacceptable, alleging that students are being exposed to content that misrepresents convicted militants as legendary figures.
The Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum has urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to personally intervene and initiate a time-bound investigation into the approval and distribution of the book within the public education system, as the controversy continues to intensify across political and civil circles.
The incident has intensified debate over educational content oversight in Jammu and Kashmir, raising serious questions about vetting mechanisms, institutional accountability, and the portrayal of historical figures in school curricula.
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