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| July 13: A closed chapter in Kashmir history | | People avoid ‘martyrs day,’ no official function held for 2nd successive year | | Early Times Report
Jammu, July 13: Although Kashmir centric political parties made every attempt to instigate people, residents of Kashmir Valley avoid observing ‘martyrs day’ today.
Instead of responding to the calls of the separatists and Kashmir centric parties, people preferred to do their routine work as there was no taker of such appeals of these parties.
Kashmir-centric parties used social media to rake up sentiments of the people but to no avail. The majority of the people avoided such attempts of the Kashmir-centric groups.
Earlier first-time after 1948, no official function was held on July 13 in the year 2020in J&K as the administration of the Union Territory (UT) had already dropped ‘Martyrs’ Day’ and Sheikh Abdullah’s birth anniversary from the list of holidays for the year 2020.
Since 1948, July 13 was commemorated as ‘Martyrs’ Day’ in J&K as after becoming the first Prime Minister of the erstwhile state of J&K in the month of October 1947, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had declared this day as ‘official holiday’ to remember those who rebelled against the then ‘autocratic’ Dogra ruler and ‘sacrificed’ their lives.
22 people were killed on July 13, 1931, during a protest against the then Dogra ruler of the erstwhile princely state of J&K- Maharaja Hari Singh. Two years ago, it was an official holiday and the day was officially observed throughout J&K. The chief ministers, different ministers, DGP of Jammu Kashmir Police, all used to offer floral wreaths at the graves of those who had died in 1931.
During the last couple of years observation of July 13 as ‘Martyrs’ Day’ had created a regional divide as Jammu used to observe it as ‘Black Day’ to recall the ‘first attack’ on religious minorities of J&K.
Not only displaced Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir Valley, Jammu based social and political parties also used to hold protests at various places to oppose the government’s decision to declare the day an official holiday to ‘glorify the first communal attack on religious minorities.’
After abrogation of article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state into two Union Territories (UTs), the administration, on December 27, 2019, had dropped July 13 and December 5 from the list of holidays for 2020. December 5 is the birth anniversary of National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
The administration had, however, declared October 26 as a gazetted holiday. On this day in 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh had signed the “Instrument of Accession” with the Indian Union. |
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