Police seize Maududi’s books from Srinagar store, Oppn says religious interference
text_fields
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police have raided a bookstore in Srinagar and seized more than 668 books, most written by Abul A’la Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, and Amin Ahsan Islahi, one of the founding members of the Jamaat, linking the raid to the clandestine sale and distribution of literature promoting the ideology of the banned organisation on Friday, February 14.
Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami was banned by the BJP-led Central government two weeks after the Pulwama attack under various sections of the anti-terror laws on February 28, 2019, alleging that the socio-religious organisation had been involved in terrorism-related activities in Jammu and Kashmir, The Wire reported.
The raid has been justified by the authorities invoking Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which authorises an executive magistrate to demand that an individual justify why they should not be required to execute a bond for keeping the peace for a period not exceeding one year.
The police, in a post on X, elaborated on the operation and justified the seizures, while local bookstore owners recounted how officers arrived at their premises, inquired about the types of books available, and confiscated several works written by Abul A’la Maududi and Amin Ahsan Islahi, both of whom are significant figures in Jamaat-e-Islami’s history.
Maududi, an influential Islamic scholar and historian from Pakistan, founded the Jamaat-e-Islami, while Islahi, a noted Pakistani scholar, was a founding member of the group, and sources have confirmed that many of the seized books were published by MMI Publishers, a New Delhi-based company that has been producing religious literature since 1948.
Some of the confiscated books are considered essential literature of Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year, the Union government extended the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami J&K for another five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, asserting that the group remains involved in fostering terrorism and promoting anti-India propaganda aimed at secessionism in the region.
However, opposition parties, including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC), have criticised the latest police action, with PDP leader Iltija Mufti describing the book seizures as an attack on the freedom to read, while NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi argued that the raids constituted unwarranted interference in religious affairs.
The crackdown comes amid evolving political dynamics, as a faction of former and serving Jamaat-e-Islami members participated in the J&K assembly elections last year, ending the organisation’s three-decade-long electoral boycott, a move that was welcomed by several mainstream parties except the ruling NC, The Wire reported.
Ghulam Qadir Lone, a former general secretary of Jamaat, led an eight-member panel last year that engaged in talks with the Union government to lift the ban, though these efforts were reportedly opposed by serving Jamaat president Hameed Fayaz and other active members who remain incarcerated following the revocation of Article 370.
The organisation has been banned multiple times in the past, including under Indira Gandhi’s government in 1975 and again in the 1990s during the rise of armed insurgency in Kashmir, though a brief reprieve was granted in 2004 when PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed ruled the state in coalition with Congress.