Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 13: Though there was no official or political function at Mazaar-e-Shoudah, the graveyard of 22 Kashmiris who were killed on July 13, 1931 by police outside the Central Jail, Srinagar, during Dogra rule but several political parties paid tributes to these martyrs by organizing commemoration events at their party offices.
National Conference president and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah today led the party functionaries in offering Fateh to the martyrs of 1931 at party headquarters Nawa-e-Subah, Srinagar. General secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, Additional general secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal, provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani, State women’s wing president Shameema Firdous, central secretary Irfan Shah, provincial vice presidents Muhammad Syed Akhoon, Syed Tauqeer Ahmed, District president Srinagar Peer Afaq Ahmed, spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar, provincial vice president North Zone vice president Dr Sajad Shafi Uri, YNC provincial president (K) Salman Ali Sagar and women’s wing president (K) Sabiya Qadri also joined the party president in paying homage to the Martyrs.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) organized a commemoration event to pay homage to the 1931 martyrs at the party headquarters in Srinagar. The event was attended and addressed by senior leaders of the party. Party chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti while paying tributes said that the role of 1931 martyrs in freedom struggle of J&K can neither be undone nor can be forgotten. She said, “Today on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day, gates leading to their graveyards have been locked up. Attempts to distort & rewrite Kashmir’s history are being done only to create a sense of defeat & helplessness amongst Kashmiris. The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) paid glowing tributes to 1931 martyrs, hailing their vision and bravery. Remembering the martyr’s, the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) said that the sacrifices of 1931 martyrs shall always be remembered as they fought against the autocracy and barbarism, besides honour of the people. “The best way to pay homage to 1931 martyrs was to defeat those forces, which were hell bent to harm the age old tradition of brother and unity in J&K,” JKPCC added.
Terming the martyrs of 1931 as the first torch bearers for establishing democracy in this region, Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari paid rich tributes to them. In a statement issued here, Bukhari said that the martyrs of July 13 were the pioneers who without bothering for the consequences raised their voice against the autocratic regime in order to establish a democratic set up in Jammu and Kashmir. “These great unarmed men laid their lives for a sacred cause and sparked a movement for establishing a democratic system whereby the people are masters of their fate,” he added.
While paying rich tributes to July 13 martyrs, CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said ‘Naya’ Kashmir which was drafted with the blood of these martyrs was dismantled on August 5, 2019. He said new narrative of BJP Government is to make a ‘Naya Kashmir’ where you are not allowed to even visit the graves of the July 13 martyrs to pay homage to them. Tarigami said the present Government is relentlessly pursuing a policy to demolish the political significance of July 13 further.
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