The alleged removal of a chapter on Kashmiri Sufi saint, mystic, poet and preacher Sheikh-ul-Alam from class 9 textbooks by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) has triggered a controversy.

CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said this was unacceptable, while the Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Lone called the move a “cultural terrorism”.

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Ruling National Conference’s chief spokesperson and MLA, Tanvir Sadiq in a post on X assured that the chapter on Sheikh-ul-Alam will not be removed from textbooks. The Education Minister has directed the Principal Secretary to address and rectify the issue found in the PDF version.

Tarigami said, “It is deeply troubling that an entire chapter on the revered Sufi saint Sheikh-ul-Alam has been dropped from the Class IX textbook. This blue-pencilling, carried out prior to the Assembly polls, is unacceptable to a society rooted in rich Sufi traditions.

I urge Chief Minister Omar Abdullah  to intervene and ensure that this crucial chapter is reinstated, thereby preserving and honoring our rich cultural and Sufi heritage”.

Sajad Lone strongly condemned the move and called it a “pure cultural terrorism” and “an assault on our culture and ethos,” Lone stated that Sheikh Noor-U-Din Wali has been revered by all Kashmiris, irrespective of religion and is held in the “highest esteem.”

He emphasized that in these times, “smudged with violence, greed and hatred,” the great saint’s life serves as a “beacon of hope and a role model for emulation.”
“Our great Saint and his Saintly ways were etched in our hearts and minds much before BOSE came into existence,” Lone remarked.

Urging for introspection, he strongly condemned the decision, reaffirming that the teachings and legacy of Sheikh Noor-U-Din Wali are an inseparable part of Kashmir’s cultural and spiritual identity.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that in 2006 the Srinagar international airport was renamed after the Sufi saint Sheikh-ul-Alam.