Kashmiris across the Line of Control (LoC) and world over will observe July 13 as Martyrs Day to pay tributes to 22 Kashmiris who were martyred by Dogra forces within the premises of Central Jail Srinagar on the same day in 1931. The troops of Dogra Maharaja had killed 22 Kashmiris, one after another, who had turned up in thousands outside Central Jail in Srinagar during the court proceedings against one Abdul Qadeer who had asked Kashmiri people to defy the Dogra rule. It was time for Namaz-e-Zuhr when a young man started the call for prayers (Azaan) but was shot dead by the Maharaja’s soldiers.
Thus, 22 youth sacrificed their lives till the completion of Azaan.Kashmiris have been observing Martyrs Week from July 8 to July 13. Every year on July 8, Burhan Wani’s martyrdom anniversary is observed as ‘Resistance Day’ while July 13 as Kashmir Martyrs’ Day in memory of 22 people who fell to the bullets of Maharaja’s troops in Srinagar in 1931.
On the call of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), complete shutdown will be observed in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK on the day whereas protest rallies, seminars and conferences would be held in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and world over to pay tribute to the martyrs, particularly those of July 1931.
Fateh would be offered for martyrs at Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqashband Sahib in Srinagar. Meanwhile, in glorious recognition of all those who have laid down their lives so that the people of Kashmir may live with their heads held high, Kashmiri American community joined the global Kashmiri diaspora community in solemn recognition of July 13th – Martyrs Day.
Secretary General, Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, in a statement said the fate of Kashmiris changed for the worse, as it has been replaced by tyrannies of successive Indian regimes with various garbs of democracy. But the tyranny in Kashmir under the Hindutva nationalists, led by Narendra Modi, has reached a new and unprecedented level of inhumanity. No one will be allowed to venture out on July 13, 2022, to commemorate the event and pay tribute to the heroes of Kashmir’s history.
But global Kashmiri diaspora community will observe the solemn day to reaffirm their resolve to continue their struggle for self-determination, and to pay homage to over 100,000 innocent men, women and children who have and continue to sacrifice their lives for freedom of their beloved land since 1989.Meanwhile, Kashmir Media Service3 reported that illegally detained senior APHC leader Nayeem Ahmad Khan and other Hurriyat leaders including Abdul Ahad Parra, Firdous Ahmad Shah, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Zamrooda Habib, Yasmeen Raja, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori and APHC-AJK Convener Mehmood Ahmad Saghar in their statements paying glowing tributes to the July 1931 martyrs, said that the unprecedented sacrifices rendered by the people of Kashmir for the freedom cause would not be allowed go waste.
They said, “As per the UN resolutions Pakistan is a key stakeholder in the Kashmir dispute and it is naïve to think that any conflict resolution process can yield results without the proper involvement of key stakeholders.” The leaders said that Kashmir was neither a regional, nor a boundary issue, it was an issue which involves the political future of the Kashmiris.
