Big Brother Urges Kashmir Bookstores to Embrace Minimalism
A cluttered space is a cluttered mind. And there’s nothing more cluttered than a bookstore with its dozens of oppressive shelves, filled with thousands of worthless books, all filled with millions of inept words, most of which are not in the latest edition of the authorized Newspeak Dictionary.
So it’s a wonderful thing that Indian authorities have seized hundreds of books from book stores around Kashmir. And lest you think authorities removed books randomly, rest-assured they focused on books written by Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of the deposed Jamaat-e-Islami movement.
Books that Big Brother disagrees with are dangerous and only serve to confuse otherwise docile proles. Luckily, “The Girl On the Train,” is still available, so you can enjoy the convoluted and alcohol fueled exploits of an unsympathetic divorcée. The delightful Paula Hawkins is incapable of stoking religious agitation.
Nevermind that the internet exists – though Big Brother wants that emptied out too – and that the banning of printed materials is a quaint notion of bygone times. Enjoy the minimalist peace of clear shelves and open spaces. Now there will be so much more room for… not books.
SYNTAX ERROR
PRINTING JUST THE FACTS
- Indian police conducted widespread raids across Kashmir, seizing 668 books primarily authored by Abul Ala Maududi, founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, claiming they were acting on intelligence about the distribution of literature promoting a banned organization's ideology.
- The raids occurred in the context of India's 2019 ban on Kashmir's branch of Jamaat-e-Islami, which was renewed last year under accusations of activities against national security, following the removal of Kashmir's partial autonomy.
- Kashmir's territorial dispute between India and Pakistan has persisted since their 1947 independence from British rule, with both nations claiming the region entirely, leading to decades of conflict and thousands of casualties.
- Religious and political leaders widely condemned the raids, arguing that the books promote moral values and responsible citizenship, while pointing out the futility of seizing physical books in an era of digital access.
- The crackdown is part of broader restrictions on civil liberties in Kashmir since Modi's government imposed direct rule in 2019, including controls on press freedom and various measures to suppress dissent.
Sources: The Telegraph, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, New Age, and Khyber News.
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