Srinagar, July 12, KDC: Anticipating movement restrictions on the eve of July 13, PDP leader and daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Iltija Mufti, visited Mazaar-e-Shuhada in Srinagar a day early to pay homage to the martyrs of 1931 who, she said, “laid down their lives for democracy.”
In a video shared on her official X handle, Iltija as per Srinagar based news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com is seen offering prayers and placing flowers on the graves at the historic site.
“Knowing that tomorrow we’d be prevented from moving out, managed to pay tributes to our martyrs who laid down their lives on 13th July 1931 for democracy. Their memory is being wilfully erased yet their voices echo in every Kashmiri’s heart that refuses to bow & dares to hope,” Iltija said in her post on ‘X’.
Her visit comes at a time when the commemoration of July 13 — once observed as Martyrs’ Day in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir — no longer features on the official list of holidays. The removal of the day from the public calendar in 2020 has drawn criticism from various political quarters, especially the PDP, which sees it as an attempt to erase a significant part of Kashmir’s political history.
The July 13, 1931 incident marks the killing of 22 Kashmiris by forces outside the Central Jail Srinagar while they were protesting the autocratic rule. The day had traditionally been observed to honor their sacrifice and as a symbol of resistance against tyranny. (KDC)
