Omar Abdullah was accompanied by his father and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah
- Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah defied police to visit Martyrs' Graveyard on July 13 anniversary
- Authorities barred leaders from visiting Martyrs Graveyard and confined them to homes on July 13
- The administration denied permission for Martyrs' Day events and warned of strict action
In a dramatic move, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah drove to the Martyrs' Graveyard this morning, resisted police's attempts to stop him and other National Conference leaders from visiting the memorial, scaled a wall and paid tributes to Kashmiri protesters shot dead by Maharaja Hari Singh's Dogra forces on July 13, 1931.
The Chief Minister's surprise feat comes a day after he and top Jammu and Kashmir leaders were barred from visiting the Martyrs' Graveyard, or Mazar-e-Shuhada, to mark the anniversary of the July 13 killings. The graveyard is attached to the shrine of Khwaja Bahawuddin Naqshbandi.
"We were not allowed to read the Fatiha here yesterday. People were kept confined to their homes. When the gates were opened and I informed the control room that I wanted to come here, a bunker was set up in front of my gate and it was not removed till late at night. Today I did not tell them at all. Without telling them, I sat into the car (and drove here)," he told the media after offering his tribute at the memorial.
"Look at their shamelessness. Even today, they tried to stop us. We parked the car at Nowhatta Chowk. They put a bunker in front of us and tried to manhandle us. These policemen in uniform sometimes forget the law. I want to ask them, under which law did they try to stop us today? The restrictions were for yesterday. They say this is a free country, but sometimes they think we are their slaves. We are not anyone's slaves. If we are slaves, we are the people's slaves," the National Conference leader said, targeting the security forces in the Valley, which are under Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's control. "They tried to stop us, to tear apart our flags, but their attempts failed. We came and read the fatiha," he said.
The Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs and Opposition leaders were confined to their homes yesterday to prevent them from visiting the Martyrs' Memorial in Srinagar. Mr Abdullah returned from Delhi last evening and said he was "locked up" thereafter.
"To borrow from the late Arun Jaitley Sb - Democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected. To put it in terms you will all understand today the unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J&K," he said on X. Without naming the Lieutenant Governor, he said the "unelected government locked up the elected government".
The administration of the Lieutenant Governor denied permission for the Martyrs' Day function and warned of strict action against anyone who tried to proceed towards the Martyrs' Graveyard.
Condemning this, Mr Abdullah posted last morning, "13th July massacre is our Jallianwala Bagh. The people who laid down their lives did so against the British. Kashmir was being ruled under the British Paramountcy. What a shame that true heroes who fought against British rule in all its forms are today projected as villains only because they were Muslims. We may be denied the opportunity to visit their graves today, but we will not forget their sacrifices."
Mehbooba Mufti, PDP leader and former Chief Minister, said the "dil ki doori" Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about will truly end the "day you accept our heroes as your own just as Kashmiris have embraced yours, from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Singh".
"When you lay siege to the Martyrs' Graveyard, lock people in their homes to prevent them from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada, it speaks volumes. July 13th commemorates our martyrs, those who rose against tyranny, much like countless others across the country. They will always be our heroes," she said. Sajad Lone, MLA and chief of Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference, said he had been put under house arrest. "I don't know why the union government is so keen to redefine what is sacred for the people of Kashmir. The sacrifices rendered on July 13 are sacred for all of us," he said on X, adding, "Histories that are etched in blood don't vanish".
Earlier, the National Conference wrote to the Lieutenant Governor, urging him to restore the public holiday on July 13 in memory of those killed in 1931. But this request was turned down, and the district magistrate denied permission to hold any event.
What Happened On July 13, 1931
July 13 is an epochal day in the history of Kashmir. On this day in 1931, a group of Kashmiris were protesting outside the Srinagar jail. They were supporters of Abdul Qadeer, who had called on Kashmiris to rise against Dogra ruler Hari Singh and was charged with sedition. On July 13, a large group of protesters gathered outside the prison where Abdul Qadeer was being held. Faced with the protesters, the Maharaja's forces opened fire, killing 22 people. The July 13 killings triggered massive protests and forced the Dogra ruler and the British to look into the grievances of the Muslim community in the Valley. The first Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir were also a political fallout of the July 13 killings. These polls marked the beginning of the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir after centuries of autocratic rule, even though the Maharaja had sweeping powers on key matters.
What Has Changed
Earlier, police personnel gave a gun salute and floral tributes were offered at the Martyrs' Graveyard on July 13 every year. Political leaders would pay tributes and hold public meetings in memory of those killed in 1931. But ever since the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked in 2019 and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union territories, the administration has prohibited any function at the Martyrs' graveyard.
Since 2020, July 13 and December 5 -- former Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister and Chief Minister Sheikh Abdullah's birth anniversary -- have been dropped as official holidays. Instead, the birth anniversary of Dogra ruler Hari Singh is now a public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir.
