Jehangir Ali 
Srinagar: The contentious history of July 13, 1931, observed as ‘Martyrs’ Day’ in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, triggered a political upheaval in the legislative assembly’s budget session on Wednesday (March 5), prompting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members to stage a walkout.
All 28 members of the saffron party walked out of the assembly after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather expunged the remarks made by Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma, who described the 22 Kashmiri men killed by Dogra forces on July 13, 1931 as “traitors”.
Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also condemned Sharma’s “outrageous remarks”, saying that the 22 Kashmiri Muslims were “killed in cold blood for standing up for the rights and dignity of the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
Speaking in a discussion on the motion of thanks to the lieutenant governor’s address on Wednesday, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Parra sought restoration of July 13 as a public holiday. Parra said that the people of J&K have laid down their lives for the country and the Constitution at different points in history.
The PDP leader also urged the house to declare December 5, the birthday of the ruling National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Abdullah, as a public holiday, even as some BJP members tried to disrupt his speech.
Both the days were removed from the list of public holidays after J&K was downgraded into a Union Territory in 2019 by the BJP-led Union government.
“Unless July 13 is declared as a public holiday to honour the Muslim martyrs of Kashmir, BJP won’t be able to do any justice (with J&K). Their sacrifices were for democracy and for India. It is because of these sacrifices that we are able to stand up in this house,” Parra said, urging the speaker to restore both the holidays.
On July 13, 1931, thousands of Kashmiris had gathered at the central jail in Srinagar to witness the trial of Abdul Qadeer who was arrested for calling for an uprising against the Dogra monarchy. Soldiers of the monarchy opened fire on the gathering and killed 22 Kashmiris. The slain were later buried in Srinagar’s ‘Mazar-e-Shuhada’ (martyrs graveyard).
When J&K was a state, both the ruling as well as the opposition political parties would gather at the historic Mazar-e-Shuhada every year on July 13 to pay tributes.
Terming July 13 as the “most precious day” in J&K’s history and a “day for democracy against Dogra monarchy,” Parra said that the 22 men had laid down their lives for restoring the democratic rights of all the people of J&K, including the Hindus of Jammu. He urged the speaker to allow debates on issues which affect the people of Jammu and Kashmir, “J&K has been demoted into a municipality. If, as a custodian of this house, you won’t allow debates, its result will be more violence and separatism. Pakistan will become strong if people of J&K are choked,” he said.
A resolution seeking the restoration of a public holiday on July 13 has been already submitted by the PDP leader to the assembly secretariat.
However, after Parra finished his speech, BJP leader Sharma objected to the resolution.
Recounting the contributions of the Dogra monarchy, Sharma said that the 22 Kashmiri Muslims killed by the Dogra forces were “not martyrs but traitors”. This evoked protests from the treasury benches as well as members of the PDP and other regional parties.
Several members of NC, PDP and other parties raised slogans in the house in favour of the ‘Martyrs Day’. The Congress MLA from Bandipora, Nizamuddin Bhat, urged the speaker to withdraw the “humiliating and divisive” remarks.
“Such statements must be removed from the official records,” Bhat said.
As the din continued in the house, Rather intervened and directed that the BJP leader’s remarks be expunged from the records, which enraged the saffron party members.
People’s Conference president and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone also urged the assembly to pass a resolution declaring July 13 and December 5 as public holidays.
In a post on X, Mirwaiz said, “Strongly condemn the outrageous remarks by a BJP member in assembly with regard to the martyrs of 13th July 1931, who were killed in cold blood for standing up for the rights and dignity of the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir. These martyrs revered by one and all in J&K,are part of our collective memory of the great sacrifices rendered by the people of Kashmir for their rights, and any attempt to malign them will be firmly resisted.”