The recent controversy over restoring July 13 as a public holiday to commemorate Martyrs’ Day in the Kashmir valley has escalated into a full-blown political slugfest, with each party accusing the other of exploiting the issue for political gain.
After the Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, the two-state holidays on July 13 and December 5 (the birthday of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah) were deleted from the list of public holidays by the LG administration on December 28, 2019. Since then, the regional political parties have not been allowed to enter the Mazaar-e-Shuhada, martyrs’ graveyard, to offer prayers.
Now, after the formation of the Omar Abdullah-led Government, there has been a growing demand from the Kashmir-based parties, including the ruling NC, to reincorporate July 13 in the holiday calendar.
Other mainstream political parties, namely the People’s Democratic Party and the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, have also come out in support of the demand to declare July 13 a public holiday. However, the BJP has asserted it will strongly oppose holding any official functions on July 13 to mark ‘Martyrs Day’.
First of all, the National Conference sought permission from the Srinagar district magistrate to visit the Martyrs’ Graveyard on July 13 to pay homage.
National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, in a letter to the Srinagar District Magistrate, said party president Farooq Abdullah and other senior functionaries of the party intend to visit the graveyard of martyrs at Naqshband Sahib near Nowhatta at 8 am on Sunday (July 13).
‘It is requested to kindly confirm the proposed timing or allot the timing so that there is no confusion whatsoever in this regard… the party will follow the timing as allotted,’ Sagar wrote in the letter.
A National Conference spokesperson said for decades, the party has solemnly observed Martyrs’ Day on July 13, honouring the valiant sacrifices made in 1931.’However, since 2019, we have repeatedly been denied the right to commemorate this historic day. ‘We sincerely hope that this time, our democratic and peaceful request will be respected, and that the National Conference will be allowed to mark this day.
The stakes are high for the National Conference as the party has made restoring July 13 and December 5 as public holidays a key electoral promise. On July 10, the NC Government formally proposed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha that both dates be reinstated as official holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
J and K BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur, however, claimed that those killed in 1931 were ‘rebels’ against Maharaja rule, not martyrs. ‘If Government functions are held on the day, we will strongly oppose it,’ Thakur stated, reflecting the BJP’s stance against commemorating the day at a state level.
Commenting on the NC’s move to approach the Raj Bhawan for the holidays, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the Omar Abdullah Government’s proposal would have carried weight if the Speaker had supported PDP’s resolution for the same in the Assembly.
‘The Speaker’s outright rejection of the resolution was unexpected and disappointing. Today’s exercise looks more like lip service than any serious effort,’ Mehbooba Mufti said.
‘July 13 is a very important day. It is the day of July 13, 1931, martyrs. The NC Government should declare a holiday on Martyrs Day,’ J and K Apni Party president and former minister Altaf Bukhari said. He also demanded that the ‘Martyrs’ Day’ be observed at the state level as it used to be.
Hitting back, NC’s chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq 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.
Sadiq said the party had already submitted a formal request to the District Magistrate Srinagar for paying tributes to the 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 law and order, should not have any reason to disallow them from paying tribute to martyrs.