The vice president and senator of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP), Sherry Rehman, condemned on Saturday the prohibition of the Indian government of the historical and resistance literature of Kashmir, describing it as “the worst example of fascism.”
In a statement, Rehman said the measure was a direct attack on the intellectual freedom of the Kashmir and reflected what he described as the antidemocratic ambitions of India.
She commented that suppressing history does not erase the facts and that the silencing of free expression exposed “fascist tendencies.”
The PPP leader claimed that New Delhi’s policies were pushing the young people of Kashmir to “intellectual slavery” and that such prohibitions damaged the global reputation of India.
He added that every attempt to suppress the truth has failed in history, and “India will also fail,” stating that confiscating books was an attempt to erase the identity of Kashmir, which could not be achieved through prohibitions.
Read: India prohibits 25 books in Iiojk about ‘secession’ claims
Previously, the police in India illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (Iiojk) attacked bookstores after the authorities prohibited 25 books, including one by the winner of the Booker Prize, Arundhati Roy, saying that the titles “excite secessisism” in the Muslim majority region disputed.
The raids occurred after the Government accused the writers of spreading “false narratives” about Kashmir “, while playing a fundamental role in the abuse of young people” against the Indian State.
“The operation aimed at materials that promote secessionist ideologies or glorify terrorism,” police said in a social media statement. “Public cooperation is requested to maintain peace and integrity,” he said.
The authorities also confiscated the Islamic literature of bookstores and houses after a similar directive in February.
