Srinagar (Agencies): Police in Indian-administered Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar, seized over 600 books by or about Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami. The books were confiscated based on credible intelligence regarding the clandestine sale and distribution of literature promoting the ideology of the banned organization. Legal action has been initiated under Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
The police raids targeted several major bookstores in Srinagar, where books written by Maududi and other scholars associated with Jamaat-e-Islami were seized. Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir was declared an “unlawful association” in February 2019, and the ban was extended for another five years last year.
The organization, which was at the forefront of the anti-India insurgency in the late 1980s, has been accused of being the political front for militant groups. Despite its participation in recent assembly elections, authorities have shown no leniency towards its members.
The seizure has sparked controversy, with opposition leaders criticizing it as a violation of the freedom to read and an example of state oppression.