The Jammu and Kashmir Police have prohibited several mainstream political parties from visiting the 13-July-1931 martyrs’ graveyard and have not allowed any congregational prayers on the death anniversary of the 1931 martyrs in the Naqashband Sahib area of Srinagar.
Leaders of the Apni Party, including its President Altaf Bukhari, and leaders of the National Conference were stopped by the police from visiting the martyrs’ graveyard in Naqashband Sahib, Srinagar, to pay homage to the martyrs of July 13, 1931. The police prevented them from moving forward as soon as they left the party’s Sheikh Bagh office to visit the graveyard. The leaders later held Fateh prayers on the road near Sheikh Bagh, and National Conference leaders were stopped while they were trying to come out from the party headquarters, Nawai Subha complex.
Former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, also claimed that their residence gates were closed, and they and many party members were not allowed to visit the martyrs’ graveyard. Abdullah wrote on social media, stating, “Another 13th July, Martyr’s Day, another round of locked gates & police excesses to stop people from paying homage to those who sacrificed their lives to establish a just, fair & democratic regime in J&K.”
Mehbooba Mufti wrote on X, “The gates of my house have been locked up yet again to prevent me from visiting Mazar e Shuhada – an enduring symbol of Kashmir’s resistance & resilience against authoritarianism, oppression & injustice. The sacrifices of our martyrs are a testament that the spirit of Kashmiris cannot be crushed. Today, even observing it in remembrance of the protesters martyred on this day has been criminalized. On 5th August 2019, J&K was dismembered, disempowered & stripped of everything that was sacrosanct for us. They intend to erase each one of our collective memories. But such assaults will only strengthen our determination to continue the fight for our rights & dignity.”
On July 13, 1931, several Kashmiri people were killed by the police of Maharaja Hari Singh for assembling outside the Central Jail Srinagar, demanding the release of a prisoner arrested by Maharaja Hari Singh’s administration on charges of sedition. Since then, the day had been observed as Martyrs’ Day by the Jammu and Kashmir government until 2019.
Following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the BJP government not only removed the government holiday on Martyrs’ Day but also discontinued the practice of congregational prayers at the martyrs’ graveyard. This move is strongly opposed by Kashmir-centric mainstream political leaders and their supporters, who see it as an attempt to change the political discourse of Jammu and Kashmir.