Authorities on Monday imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar’s old city to prevent political leaders and members of the public from reaching the Martyrs’ Graveyard on the anniversary of the July 13, 1931, killings.
July 13 is observed in Jammu and Kashmir in memory of the 22 people killed by the Dogra army outside Srinagar Central Jail in 1931. The Lieutenant Governor’s administration removed the day from the list of gazetted holidays in 2020.
Since late Sunday night, authorities placed several political leaders under house detention and erected barricades around the Martyrs’ Graveyard in Naqshband Sahib to restrict access. Security personnel were deployed in large numbers to maintain law and order.
Early on Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet Minister Sakina Itoo posted a video on X showing her, dressed in a burqa and accompanied by another National Conference leader, attempting to reach the graveyard.
“I tried to visit the Mazar-e-Shuhada at 4.30 am today to pay my humble tributes to our martyrs of July 13. However, due to the heavy deployment of security forces and extensive barbed-wire barricading around the graves, I was prevented from entering,” she wrote.
Itoo said physical barriers could not prevent people from honouring the sacrifices of the martyrs. “Their memory, courage and legacy will forever remain alive in our hearts. We will continue to pay our tributes with dignity and unwavering respect,” she added.
Several leaders from the National Conference (NC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) also alleged that they were prevented from visiting the graveyard to offer tributes.
Later in the day, NC leaders and workers gathered at the party headquarters in Srinagar to pay homage to the July 13 martyrs.
In a post on X, the party said the restrictions imposed by the BJP-led administration would not deter it from remembering and commemorating “their eternal sacrifice.”
For the past few years, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which functions under the Lieutenant Governor’s administration, has not permitted political leaders to visit the Martyrs’ Graveyard on the anniversary.
Last year, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had confronted police personnel, walked to the site on foot and climbed over a wall to enter the graveyard after being stopped by security forces.