In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti has paid tributes to the 22 Kashmiris killed in 1931 protest against Dogra rule and criticized the BJP for turning the martyrs’ sacrifices into a communal issue. According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to reporters at the PDP office in Srinagar, Mehbooba said the 22 Kashmiris laid down their lives outside Srinagar Central Jail while resisting “autocratic rule”. 

“They raised their voice against the autocratic rule of that time, its oppression and tyranny, and awakened our nation,” she said. The authorities had placed restrictions around the Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqshband Sahib to prevent people, including politicians, from paying tributes. Mehbooba said she was placed under house arrest on Sunday while the area was completely sealed on Monday. Drawing parallels with Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Ashfaqullah Khan, she said Kashmiris respect all freedom fighters, but the BJP has made the issue of 1931 martyrs a “Hindu-Muslim” and “Dogra-Kashmiri” issue. 

“The BJP cannot put restrictions on the minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. These martyrs are our heroes. Just as Godse is the hero of BJP, these people martyred in 1931 for people’s rule are our martyrs and will remain so,” she said, terming the restrictions an “excess done by the BJP”. PDP leader Iltija Mufti also accused the BJP of trying to “erase and distort” JIIOJK’s history. “This Martyrs’ Day is not illegal, not seditious. It is because of them that democracy came to Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.  

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)