On Sunday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah severely criticized the administration over harsh restrictions imposed on Martyrs Day, terming the step as being blatantly undemocratic. In a set of tweets on the social media site, X (previously Twitter), Abdullah claimed that the doors of several houses in Srinagar were locked and bridges in-Srinagar blocked to prevent individuals accessing the place of the Martyrs Graveyard in Srinagar out of which central security forces had been deployed to serve as so-called jailers.
He said the graveyard is a site of historical importance and is where those who put down their lives to give the Kashmiris a voice rest, and the act of preventing people from visiting the place is highly unfair. He considers these kinds of action as not only insulting the memory of such martyrs but also indicating a worrying level of muzzling the democratic voice in that region.
This is a very strong analogy that Abdullah drew between the happenings now and what happened during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, claiming that the sacrifices made by the people who showed their stand against the British colonial rule can never be forgotten. He emphasized that Martyrs Day is not only a political ceremony but a serious day to remember those who gave something to Kashmiri identity and resistance to be represented.
He made his remarks following accusations by Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) spokesperson and Zadibal legislative assembly member Tanvir Sadiq that several of the party leaders were put under home arrest the night before the commemoration. Sadiq asserts that the idea was to avoid the assembly of members of the party as well as citizens to go and venerate the martyrs of July 13.
Omar Abdullah’s statement indicates the increasing signs of the diminishing space of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly at delicate historical and political events, which the people of Jammu and Kashmir consider as the biggest emotional and cultural moments of their land.
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