The former J&K chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti was placed under house arrest on Thursday morning on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day.
Several political leaders of Jammu & Kashmir have accused the government of enforcing restrictions to prevent them from going to the Martyrs’ Graveyard, where a ceremony has been held every year since 1948 in memory of those who died in a revolt against the Dogra rule on July 13, 1931.
Taking to Twitter, Mehbooba Mufti said that the government had put her under house arrest and surveillance by security forces to prevent her from visiting the graveyard. “The BJP claims in the Supreme Court that the abrogation of Article 370 brought normalcy to the valley, however, the truth is far from their claims,” she said.
“Im under house arrest for wanting to visit Martyr’s graveyard today. This at a time when GOI has used its tall claims of normalcy in SC to justify an act of betrayal- the illegal abrogation of Article 370. BJPs own heroes Vir Sarvarkar, Shyama Prasad Mukheriji , Gowalkar & Godse who spread hatred & divison can’t be forced on us (sic),” she tweeted.
“For us those who sacrificed their lives for democracy to take root in J&K will always be admired for their act of courage. We won’t allow you to distort our history or forget our heroes. On the occasion of Martyrs day, I salute their courage for valiantly fighting against despots to the end,” she added.
On the other hand, the National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah also shared a video on Twitter where he alleged the government denied him a security vehicle and ITBP cover to prevent him from visiting the graveyard.
While tagging Jammu & Kashmir police he tweeted, “Dear @JmuKmrPolice don’t think that refusing to give me my escort vehicles & ITBP cover will stop me. I’ll walk to where I have to get to & that’s exactly what I’m doing now.”
“Now that I’ve got to the office & will go ahead with my programme you will send everything. The fact is @JmuKmrPolice has stopped a lot of my senior colleagues from coming to the @JKNC_office today by adopting the same tactics of stopping them in their homes,” Omar tweeted.
Martyrs’ Day: What happened in 1931?
The Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, also called Yaum-e-Shuhada, is observed on July 13 every year in both parts of Kashmir across the LOC. The day is marked in memory of 22 Kashmiri Muslims, who were shot dead from point-blank range outside Srinagar Central Jail by the Dogra security force for revolting against the oppressive policies of the British-ally Dogra regime.
This day is considered a milestone in the history of Kashmir against foreign occupations.
In the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, July 13 was observed as a public holiday, and a grand function would be held every year. Usually, the chief minister or the governor would pay tribute to the Martyrs. However, following the abrogation of Article 370, the BJP government dropped the day from the gazetted holiday lists.
