Omar Abdullah Reaches Srinagar’s Mazar-e-Shuhada After Defying Restrictions

Abdullah who was accompanied by several National Conference (NC) colleagues including ministers and lawmakers and subsequently joined by his father and party president Farooq Abdullah quietly drove to Khawaja Bazaar quarter of Kashmiri capital to recite Fatiha, the Islamic supplication for mercy and forgiveness for the departed, an offer floral tribute.

Earlier the police attempted to stop the Chief Minister from reaching the Mazar-e-Shuhada. Soon videos showing the police officials physically obstructing his path and Abdullah resisting them went viral on social media.

The Chief Minister himself uploaded one of these videos on ‘X’ and said that, facing restrictions and manhandling, he scaled a wall to bypass the police and successfully reached the martyrs' graveyard to pay tributes to the 1931 martyrs.

“This is the physical grappling I was subjected to but I am made of sterner stuff & was not to be stopped. I was doing nothing unlawful or illegal. In fact these “protectors of the law” need to explain under what law they were trying to stop us from offering Fatiha,” he wrote on ‘X’.

In another post, the Chief Minister said, “Paid my respects & offered Fatiha at the graves of the martyrs of 13th July 1931. The unelected government tried to block my way, forcing me to walk from Nawhatta Chowk. They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sb shrine forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me but I was not going to be stopped today”.

This followed the Srinagar district administration's denial of permission for political parties to visit the martyrs' graveyard on Kashmir Martyrs' Day (July 13), citing law and order concerns. The J&K police along with Central Armed Police Forces (CAPDs) enforced a temporary partial lockdown in Srinagar on Sunday to hold back public assemblies at the Mazar-e-Shuhada. Politicians – both mainstream and separatists- including Abdullahs and several ministers and MLAs -- were locked inside their homes or detained by the police to prevent them from relocating to the commemorative site situated beside the mausoleum of a Sufi saint of Naqshbandi order, a mosque and a Sufi lodge at Khawaja Bazaar.

The Chief Minister had condemned the administration’s actions as “blatantly undemocratic,” accusing the Lt. Governor’s administration of imposing a “tyranny of the unelected” by locking leaders in their homes and blocking access to the cemetery.

While speaking to reporters at the Mazar-e-Shuhada on Monday, the Chief Minister said, “This is very unfortunate that the very people who themselves claim that their responsibility is only security and law and order…it was on their clear directions that we were not allowed to come here to offer Fatiha yesterday. All were placed under house arrest early (Sunday) morning. Even when the gates began to open and I informed the (police) control room that I want to go to (Mazar-e-Shuhada) to offer Fatiha, a bunker (vehicle) was placed outside my residence within minutes. It was not removed till 12-1 o-clock in the night”.

He added, “I didn’t tell them today…without informing them I sat in my vehicle. Look at their shamelessness, today also they tried to stop us from reaching here. I parked my vehicle at Nowhatta Chowk (about 100 yards from Mazar-e-Shuhada). They tried to stop me by placing a CRPF bunker (vehicle) in front of me. The J&K police personnel tried to engage us in a scuffle. These people who don uniforms sometimes forget the law . I want to ask them under which law they tried to stop us today. If there were restrictions, these were meant for yesterday.”

The Chief Minister further stated, “For the sake of saying, they say this is a free country. But, at times, they think we are their slaves. We are no one’s slaves. If we are slaves, we are the slaves of the people of this place; if we are servants of any one, it is the people of this place.”

Condemning the police actions, the Chief Minister said, “After wearing uniform they vandalize the law. I fail to understand this. But we foiled their attempts. They tried to capture us; they tried to tear off our (NC) flag. But all their attempts were unsuccessful. We came here. We recited Fatiha”. He added, “Perhaps, they have the misunderstanding that these graves are here only on July 13. They overlook that our martyrs' graves stand here year-round. It doesn’t have to be July 13—we can visit on July 12, 14, or 15, or in December, January, or February. How long can they block us? We’ll come whenever we choose to honor these martyrs."

On July 13, 1931, as many as 22 Kashmiri Muslims were killed in firing by autocratic Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh's army outside Srinagar’s central prison where an in-camera trial of Abdul Qadeer Khan, a non-local chef with a British traveller, was being held.

Khan had been charged with sedition and instigating people for violence after he made fiery speeches against the Maharaja’s “oppressive” rule at a Friday congregation and while pointing towards his Palace asked people to raze it “brick by brick.” July 13 is observed as ‘Martyrs’ Day’ on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) since.

Traditionally, the head of the government in erstwhile state of J&K or its representatives would visit Mazar-e-Shuhada to pay obeisance to the martyrs of July 13, 1931 and lay wreaths at their grave. A special contingent of J&K policemen would post the bugle and present the ceremonial guard of honour to the martyrs.

However, no such customary ceremony has taken place at the cemetery since 2020 nor is any resident being allowed to enter the premises. On Saturday evening, both entrances to the mazar were locked by the authorities and gun-wielding policemen stood guard outside it, the witnesses said. The police and CAPFs reinforcements have restricted the movement of people in the localities around the martyrs' cemetery since Sunday dawn, the locals said over the phone.

The J&K Government had in January 2020, six months after the erstwhile state was stripped of its special status and split up into two Union Territories, cancelled the gazetted state holiday on July 13. The decision, however, evoked widespread condemnation by local political parties and vast sections of J&K Muslims termed it as an “onslaught” on their ethos and a “deliberate attempt” to “hurt” their sentiments.

A year later, the Lieutenant Governor-led administration, conceding the demand of various political and ethnic groups of Jammu and the BJP, declared September 23-the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh- a public holiday.

The NC, opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) and several other mainstream parties had desired to hold commemorative rallies and prayer meetings at the Mazar-e-Shuhada and most had formally approached Srinagar’s District Magistrate to seek his permission for such gatherings.

However, the Srinagar district administration on Saturday evening announced that it has denied permission to all applicants intending to proceed towards Khawaja Bazaar on July 13. Following this, the police "advised" the public "to strictly comply with these instructions and refrain from violating the orders issued by district administration".

It warned, "Any violation of these orders shall invite strict legal action under relevant provisions of law".

The views of political parties in J&K on the martyrs of July 13, 1931 reflect deep divisions rooted in historical, political, and ideological differences. The events of that day are commemorated as Martyrs’ Day by many but interpreted differently across the political spectrum.

The regional mainstream parties such as NC and PDP view the day as a cornerstone of Kashmiri identity and the struggle for democratic rights and the sacrifice of the 22 slain Kashmiri Muslims as a pivotal moment in the struggle against the autocratic rule. They also insist that the uprising was driven by demands for socio-economic and political rights for Muslims under Dogra oppression, as a fight for democratic reforms within the existing framework of the princely state.

On the other hand, the separatists including Hurriyat Conference argue that the martyrs’ sacrifice was rooted in a desire for complete independence from Dogra rule and any external domination. They also say that the uprising was a rebellion against not just autocracy but also the broader socio-political subjugation of Kashmiris, with aspirations for self-determination and that accession of J&K to India in 1947 contradicted the spirit of July 13, which they continue to see as a foundational moment in the Kashmiri struggle for sovereignty.

In contrast to these views, the BJP and other like-minded political parties and groups besides the Kashmiri Pandit outfits like Panun Kashmir and Kashmir Vahini allege that July 13, 1931 also marks the beginning of “persecution” of the minority Hindus in the Valley by Muslim majority. The BJP and like-minded parties having strong base in Jammu, the native place of despotic Dogra Maharajas, consider their rule in undivided J&K as a ‘golden period’ and also maintain that Maharaja Hari Singh was a genuine ruler of the State and the rebellion against his administration was “illegitimate”. When ruling J&K with PDP between 2015 and 2018, the BJP ministers in the coalition government would skip the official wreath laying ceremony at Srinagar’s Mazar-e-Shuhada and publicly say “they are not our martyrs”.