Srinagar, March 5 – Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Wednesday strongly condemned remarks made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sunil Sharma regarding the “martyrs” of July 13, 1931, calling them “outrageous.”
The comments, made during a session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, were later expunged by Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather. Sharma, the Leader of the Opposition, reportedly made “objectionable” statements about the 1931 protesters who were killed by the Dogra army during an uprising against then-Maharaja Hari Singh.
Mirwaiz, in a post on X, denounced Sharma’s remarks, stating that the individuals killed on July 13, 1931, were “martyred 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,” he wrote.
The events of July 13, 1931, are widely regarded as a pivotal moment in Kashmir’s political history. More than 20 unarmed protesters were killed by Dogra troops as they demonstrated against the then-monarchical rule.
Until 2019, July 13 was observed as a public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir, with the governor or chief minister paying official tributes in Srinagar’s Nowhatta area. However, following the abrogation of Article 370, the holiday was scrapped, and official commemorations ceased.
The Chenab Times News Desk