On Sunday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah strongly criticized the government for preventing several political leaders from visiting the historic Martyrs’ Graveyard in Srinagar on July 13. The site is where 22 Kashmiris were buried after being shot dead during a protest against Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule in 1931. Their deaths are remembered every year as Martyrs’ Day.
Omar said the government placed mainstream political leaders under house arrest to stop them from paying tribute. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “In a blatantly undemocratic move, homes have been locked from the outside, police and central forces deployed as jailers, and major bridges in Srinagar blocked. All to stop people from visiting a historically important graveyard where people who laid down their lives to give Kashmiris a voice and empower them are buried.”
He went on to compare the July 13 massacre to the Jallianwala Bagh killings, calling it “our Jallianwala Bagh.” “Those who laid down their lives did so against British tyranny. Kashmir was under British paramountcy. It’s shameful that these true heroes, who fought colonial oppression, are today projected as villains merely because they were Muslims,” he wrote. “We may be denied the opportunity to visit their graves today, but we will never forget their sacrifice.”
In another post, Omar used the words of late BJP leader Arun Jaitley to criticize the central government’s control over Jammu and Kashmir. “To borrow from the late Arun Jaitley Sb – democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected. To put it in terms you will all understand today, the unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J&K,” he said.
The Chief Minister also issued an official statement remembering the martyrs of 1931 as “brave souls who stood unshaken in the face of tyranny and laid down their lives for justice, dignity, and democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.” He said their sacrifice “marked not just resistance but the rise of a collective conscience that continues to guide us today.”
Several other political leaders were also reportedly placed under house arrest. Among them were former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone, former minister Naeem Akhtar, National Conference MLA Tanvir Sadiq, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari, and Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. All of them had planned to visit the Martyrs’ Graveyard at Khawaja Bazar in Srinagar.
A day earlier, the Srinagar Police announced that the district administration had denied permission to all who intended to proceed to the site on July 13. In a public notice, the police said, “The general public is hereby advised to strictly comply with these instructions and refrain from violating the orders issued by the District Administration. Any violation of these orders shall invite strict legal action.”
Former CM Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the restrictions. In a post on X, she wrote, “The day you accept our heroes as your own—just as Kashmiris have embraced yours, from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Singh—that day, as Prime Minister Modi once said, the ‘dil ki doori’ (distance of hearts) will truly end. When you lay siege to the Martyrs’ Graveyard and lock people in their homes to prevent them from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada, it speaks volumes. July 13 commemorates our martyrs who rose against tyranny, much like countless others across the country. They will always be our heroes.”
Leaders like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Sajad Lone, Altaf Bukhari, and Tanvir Sadiq also called the government’s move repressive and unjustified. They said stopping people from offering prayers and tributes to their own heroes is not just an attack on democratic rights, but also a sign of growing intolerance toward Kashmir’s history and identity.
