Amid the rising political heat over the 1931 martyrs, a senior member of ruling National Conference today vowed that the holiday on July 13 will definitely return as soon as possible.
On July 13, 1931, 22 Kashmiri civilians were killed outside Srinagar jail during protests against Maharaja Hari Singh, the then Dogra monarch of J&K.
After the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the J&K government headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha removed the ‘Martyrs Day’ from the official holiday calendar of the government. There has been a growing demand from the Kashmir-based parties, including ruling NC, to reincorporate July 13 in the holiday calendar.
NC’s chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq said the party has always paid tributes to July 13 “martyrs’ and it will continue to do so.
“As far as we are concerned, we have made a promise. We will definitely bring the holiday of 13th of July and bring it as soon as possible,” Sadiq told reporters on the sidelines of a party function.
Sadiq linked the removal of the holiday to the broader “erosion” of Jammu and Kashmir’s political identity.
“This is why we keep saying that the return of statehood is crucial,” he added. “Only then can we rectify what has been destroyed in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Sadiq said the party had already submitted a formal request to District Magistrate Srinagar, for paying tributes to July 13 martyrs at Naqshband sahib in old Srinagar.
“We only want to offer tributes and Fatiha for the martyrs. I think there should be no obstacle,” he said.
He said that Raj Bhawan, which is responsible for the law and order, should not have any reason to disallow them from paying tribute to martyrs.
“If the ruling party is asking to go and pay homage to those martyrs who live in the hearts of Jammu and Kashmir’s people, where is the law and order issue?” he asked. “It is a pity that remembering our martyrs causes discomfort to Raj Bhawan and their politics.”
Sadiq launched a scathing attack on PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and the Apni Party headed by Altaf Bukhari, accusing them of hypocrisy over their recent remarks regarding the July 13 Martyrs’ Day observance.
Sadiq questioned the moral ground of both parties to speak on the issue, alleging that during their alliance with the BJP, they failed to honour the legacy of the 1931 martyrs.
“When Mehbooba Mufti was the Chief Minister, not once did any of her cabinet ministers from BJP visited martyrs’ graveyard to offer homage on July 13,” Sadiq said. “They didn’t even put the Jammu and Kashmir state flag on their official vehicles.”
He accused the PDP and Apni Party of political opportunism, saying, “Today they want to teach us about Martyrs’ Day It’s deeply unfortunate. It was because of their mistakes that 2019 happened This is nothing but politics and people have rejected them,” he said.
