Mehbooba Mufti, the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been placed under house arrest ahead of Martyrs’ Day observance in Srinagar, according to her daughter Iltija Mufti. Iltija stated that they have been placed under house arrest for reasons best known to the J&K Police, questioning the normalcy claimed to have been established in Kashmir. Iltija further alleged that the local government is also involved in using police to demolish homes and place opponents in detention when convenient.
July 13 is commemorated as Martyrs’ Day in Jammu and Kashmir as a tribute to the 22 persons who were killed by the Dogra army outside Srinagar’s Central Jail in 1931. The L-G administration had dropped the day from the list of gazetted holidays in 2020. The PDP expressed serious concern over the continuing atmosphere of fear and uncertainty prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir.
At a meeting of the party’s core committee, a PDP spokesperson noted that the persistent culture of raids, repeated searches, and coercive measures has cast a shadow over normal civic life, creating a widespread sense of harassment and insecurity among ordinary citizens. The committee also discussed the unending trauma being faced by hundreds of families whose loved ones continue to languish in jails for prolonged periods, often without timely conclusion of trials. They condemned the restrictions imposed on the observance of Martyrs’ Day and stated that a democratic society cannot flourish where people continue to live under an environment of constant apprehension.
The J&K authorities have barricaded the roads leading to the Naqshband Sahib shrine, which houses the graves of 22 civilians killed during an uprising against the Dogra monarchy in 1931. The J&K Police had parked vehicles at the gates of the shrine, and barricades have also been erected on the roads to stop regional leaders from paying tributes at the shrine on July 13. The 95th Youm-e-Shohada reminds of the defining chapter in Jammu and Kashmir’s struggle for justice, dignity, and democratic rights.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and the party’s vice president Omar Abdullah described July 13, 1931, as a historic watershed that ignited a mass movement against autocracy, oppression, and injustice in the erstwhile princely State. Dr. Farooq Abdullah is expected to proceed to the ‘martyrs’ graveyard’ at Naqshband Sahib to pay homage on the occasion. J&K Peoples Conference president Sajjad Gani Lone accused the present dispensation of relegating history to irrelevance while substituting governance with political spectacle.
He stated that the government has made no sincere effort to restore this public holiday, honouring the sacrifice of native heroes. The sacrifice of 1931 has become a timeless symbol of courage, dignity, and the struggle for justice, inspiring generations.
