'What a shame': Omar as L-G denies permission for events on Martyrs’ Day, leaders put under house arrest

Srinagar: Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday enforced a partial lockdown across Srinagar, placing several political leaders under house arrest and preventing them from assembling at the Martyrs’ Graveyard to mark the anniversary of the 1931 killings—commemorated as Martyrs’ Day in the region.

For the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, an elected government was in office on July 13, but the administration, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, denied permission for any event at the historic Martyrs’ Cemetery in old Srinagar.

The site is the final resting place of 22 men who were shot dead by the Dogra forces while protesting outside Srinagar Central Jail against autocratic rule under British paramountcy.

Restrictions were imposed in parts of Srinagar and police warned of strict action against anyone attempting to reach the graveyard. Political leaders across party lines, including ministers in the Omar Abdullah-led government, sitting MLAs, and opposition leaders, were prevented from paying their tributes.

Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah strongly criticised the crackdown. “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,” he said in a post on X. We may be denied the opportunity to visit their graves today, but we will not forget their sacrifices.”

Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the restrictions. “The ‘dil ki doori’ Prime Minister 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,” she posted on social media.

The Union Territory administration had earlier scrapped Martyrs’ Day as an official holiday following the 2019 constitutional changes. The holiday on the birth anniversary of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was also scrapped. In addition, the LG administration in 2022 declared the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh as a public holiday.

This year’s attempt by mainstream political parties to jointly observe Martyrs Day sparked renewed political tensions, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposing any official commemoration.

In anticipation of gatherings, J&K Police preemptively confined several senior leaders to their homes. Roads leading to the Martyrs’ Graveyard in Khanyar in the old city were barricaded, and police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in strength to prevent public movement.

Before 2019, July 13 was a state holiday commemorated as a solemn occasion in the political history of Jammu and Kashmir. The 22 men who were killed had gathered in support of Abdul Qadeer, a protester arrested for speaking against the Dogra monarchy. Their killing outside the Central Jail is widely seen as the beginning of a political awakening in Kashmir.