SRINAGAR: Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have sealed the martyrs' graveyard in downtown Srinagar on Sunday as a precaution ahead of commemorative marches called by mainstream and separatist parties to pay tribute to the July 13, 1931 martyrs.
Police and paramilitary personnel set up barricades on roads leading to the martyrs' graveyard at the Naqashband Sahib shrine in the Nowhatta area of downtown Srinagar. Security personnel equipped with anti-riot gear were deployed in strength to restrict public movement.
Armoured vehicles were also stationed on approach roads to prevent any attempt by political parties to march to the graveyard.
Before the abrogation of Article 370, July 13 was observed as Martyrs' Day in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the killing of 22 Kashmiri civilians by Dogra troops under Maharaja Hari Singh in 1931.
Every year, the head of the government traditionally laid wreaths at the martyrs' graveyard at Naqashband Sahib on July 13. The ceremony continued even when the BJP shared power with the PDP.
Martyrs' Day also remained a state holiday until August 5, 2019. However, after the abrogation of Article 370, the Lieutenant Governor's administration removed July 13 from the list of gazetted holidays in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti alleged on Sunday that she and her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, had been placed under house arrest. "We have been placed under house arrest on the eve of Martyrs Day for reasons best known to JK Police," Iltija posted on X.
"This is the normalcy they claim to have established in Kashmir? Make no mistake, the local government too is hand in glove using police in Sidhra to demolish homes & place opponents in detention when convenient," she said and further live-streamed the barricading of the entrance to their home in the Khimber area on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Hurriyat Conference chairman and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq announced that after offering Zuhr (afternoon) prayers at Srinagar's historic Jama Masjid on Sunday, he and others would march to the martyrs' graveyard to offer prayers and pay tribute to the 1931 martyrs on Monday.
Mirwaiz expressed hope that the authorities would not create obstacles and allow the peaceful religious and commemorative programme to go ahead in keeping with the long-standing tradition associated with the day.
Leaders of the ruling National Conference (NC), PDP and other Kashmir-based political parties are also expected to attempt to visit the martyrs' graveyard to pay tribute.
However, administrative sources said none of the leaders would be allowed to visit the graveyard, with tight security restrictions set to remain in place.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the sacrifices of the July 13 martyrs would forever symbolise humanity's unwavering quest for dignity, justice and fundamental rights.
"I pay my humble tributes to our great martyrs who laid down their lives to challenge autocratic rule. Their sacrifice marked a turning point that awakened generations to rise against injustice. July 13 will always remind us of the enduring power of unity, compassion and peaceful resistance in the face of oppression," he said.
Peoples Conference president and MLA Sajad Gani Lone, while paying tribute to the martyrs, described the day as one inscribed not merely in history but in the collective conscience of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He accused the Omar Abdullah government of relegating history to irrelevance while substituting governance with political spectacle.
"This government has made no sincere effort to restore this public holiday, honouring the sacrifice of our native heroes. It has chosen theatre over truth, rhetoric over resolve and in doing so, has turned its back on history itself," Lone said.
"No government order can erase what a people choose to remember," he remarked, adding that the restoration of July 13 as a public holiday is not a concession but a long overdue obligation rooted in historical justice.
"Restoring the day as a public holiday would transcend symbolism," he said.