Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has banned the publication, circulation, possession and storage of literature linked to several proscribed terrorist organisations, including the Islamic State (IS), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

In a gazette notification issued by the Home Department on August 6, the government ordered the forfeiture of 114 publications, including books, magazines and other propaganda material, stating that they promote violent extremism, radicalisation and recruitment for terrorist organisations.

According to the notification, intelligence inputs, cyber surveillance reports and investigations by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) found continued circulation and transmission of radical material linked to banned organisations.

The notification states that the material "glorifies violent extremism and jihad, promotes radicalisation, provides ideological indoctrination, facilitates recruitment, and incites or encourages acts prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India." It adds that such content poses "a serious threat to public order, communal harmony and internal security."

The government said senior police and ATS officials had, in March 2025, recommended that the publications be forfeited after determining that they were associated with activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state and public order.

The notification further states that the banned material is associated with organisations listed in the First Schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), including content circulated through websites, social media platforms, encrypted messaging channels and other digital networks.

Among the 114 banned items are 44 issues of the Voice of Khurasan magazine, publications such as Are You Still Sitting, Why Should You Join the Islamic State, and Nida-e-Khurasan (Urdu), which the government said are linked to the Islamic State and its affiliates. The list also includes publications such as The Revolutionary Resurgence, allegedly linked to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment, and Nawai Gazawa-e-Hind, School of Yusuf and Modern Warfare, which the notification associates with Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

The notification prohibits the publication, circulation, distribution, sale, exhibition, possession and storage, whether in physical or digital form, of the listed material, stating that it is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.

Background

The notification follows recommendations made by senior Maharashtra Police and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials in March 2025, who advised the state government that several publications and digital materials linked to banned organisations should be forfeited because they were prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India and public order.

The organisations named in the notification, including the Islamic State (IS/ISIS), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), are all proscribed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). Membership, support and activities connected with these organisations are prohibited under the law.

The order also reflects changes under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which empowers state governments to declare publications forfeited where they contain unlawful or seditious material. Unlike the earlier CrPC provision, the BNSS expressly extends the power to electronic and digital publications, allowing authorities to act against material circulated through encrypted messaging platforms and online networks.

The banned material is not ordinary religious literature. According to the notification, it consists primarily of propaganda magazines, recruitment manuals and ideological publications allegedly produced or circulated by proscribed terrorist organisations. Among them are 44 issues of Voice of Khurasan, the Islamic State's English-language magazine for South Asia, along with publications such as Why Should You Join the Islamic State, Nida-e-Khurasan, The Revolutionary Resurgence and Nawai Gazawa-e-Hind, which investigators say promote extremist ideology and recruitment.

This report is based on inputs from PTI, with additional reporting and background by the EdexLive Desk.