India’s Replication of Israeli Policies in IIOJK

In a disturbing move to reshape IIOJK’s identity, India is intensifying its crackdown on Islamic heritage, mirroring tactics used by Israel to suppress Palestinian culture.

The situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) continues to worsen as India accelerates efforts to forcibly alter the region’s demography and culture. Following a strategy similar to Israel’s occupation of Palestine, India is attempting to erase IIOJK’s Muslim identity and integrate the territory completely, stripping it of its distinct existence.

A significant part of this systematic oppression is India’s recent action against Islamic literature in IIOJK. Indian authorities have raided bookstores, confiscating hundreds of books authored by renowned Islamic scholar Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami. The organization, which has played a crucial role in social and educational upliftment, was banned in 2019 by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Now, any book associated with Maududi—regardless of its content—is being seized, and Islamic literature is being systematically removed from stores.

This disturbing move reflects a broader agenda to erase Islamic history and identity in IIOJK. Books on Islamic culture, morality, and history are disappearing from shelves in a blatant attempt to suppress Kashmiri heritage. This act is strikingly similar to Israel’s policies in Palestine, where authorities have raided bookstores in Jerusalem and confiscated materials they deem “objectionable.”

History has repeatedly shown that regimes that suppress free speech and burn books are never on the right side of justice. The Nazi book burnings of the 1930s serve as a dark reminder of where such censorship leads. Today, India’s policies in IIOJK and Israel’s oppression of Palestinians follow the same settler-colonial playbook—one designed to rewrite history, erase identity, and crush resistance.

Beyond the book seizures, India is using infrastructure projects as a means of territorial fragmentation. Under the guise of development, new roads and railway networks are being built in a way that isolates Kashmiri Muslim communities, cutting them off from their ancestral lands. This is not merely a violation of international law—it is a deliberate act of demographic engineering aimed at altering IIOJK’s social fabric forever.

India’s heavy-handed policies in IIOJK are not just a legal breach but a moral failure. The world cannot turn a blind eye to these human rights violations.

The Kashmiri struggle for freedom is one of resilience and defiance. The people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir have long endured oppression, but their spirit remains unbroken. The world must recognize the urgent need to hold India accountable and ensure that Kashmiris are not silenced in their fight for justice and self-determination.