Free Speech Tracker

List of Incidents in Jammu and Kashmir -> Censorship -> 2011
J&K State Board of School Education's chairman booked for sedition
Ref: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/for-sketch-in-urdu-text-j&k-school-board-chief-faces-sedition-charge/889889/
SRINAGAR, J&K

In a bizarre move, the Jammu and Kashmir police have booked the chairman of J&K State Board of School Education and five officials for sedition for publishing an illustration of a"tyrant" who resembles a"policeman" in an Urdu primer the board published for Class 1 students.

The image is an illustration of a man in cap and uniform " resembling that of a policeman " holding a bamboo stick and described as"zalim" (tyrant). The book has been in circulation for a year, but it was only today that the police registered a case against board chairman Sheikh Bashir Ahmad.

"There are many reasons for registration of this case," said Srinagar senior superintendent of police Ashiq Bukhari."This picture is one of them." Asked what the"other reasons" were, Bukhari declined to comment.

On page 51 of the book " which teaches the Urdu alphabet " are words that begin with the Urdu letter Zoi: zaroof (utensils), zahir (visible), zareef (humorist) and zalim (tyrant).


Only "˜zalim"™ has a corresponding picture: of a man in uniform, sporting a moustache with a bamboo stick in his hand.

"The picture doesn"™t identify anybody... It doesn"™t resemble any person from the (security) force, it"™s only a graphic", said board chairman Ahmad."In fact, when the police first informed us about this picture, we recalled all the books. We sent special teams to schools to put a black seal on the picture because we don"™t want to hurt anybody"™s sentiments."

"There is misrepresentation of facts in the book," said investigating officer Shailendra Mishra."We have registered cases against six people including the board chairman."