Kashmiris Observe 92nd Kashmir Martyrs Day With Renewed Resolve

MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Jul, 2022 ) : Jul 13 (APP):A large number of people paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of Jammu and Kashmir including 23 sons of the soil who lost their lives on this day in 1931 in front of Central Jail Srinagar. This day is remembered as the Kashmir Martyrs Day and these martyrs are credited to have laid the foundation of the movement for liberation from the despotic Dogra rule.

Kashmiris all over the world observed the 92nd Kashmir Martyrs Day on Tuesday with the hope to continue the freedom struggle with full vigor in order to achieve liberation from the tyrannical Indian rule.

Special prayers, meetings, symposiums were held across Azad Jammu and Kashmir, in the strife-torn Indian occupied Kashmir valley and rest of the world to observe the day.

It was on this day in 1931 when the Dogra troops shot dead 23 Kashmiris in front of the Central Jail Srinagar.

In Azad Jammu Kashmir, it was the state holiday. This year too, the Kashmir Martyrs Day gave a sense of renewed hope that if India agrees to the ground realities without any reservations and learns a lesson from the historical facts that she (New Delhi) cannot rule Kashmiris at gun point, it may help bring a lasting peace and prosperity in the region through the early peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue in line with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir and United Nations resolutions.

Special Kashmir Martyrs Day meetings were held at almost all the districts and tehsil headquarters including Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bagh, Rawalakot, Sudhanoti, Neelam valley, Haveili, Hattiyan and Bhimbher and all other small and major towns and cities. A large number of people from various social, political and religious Kashmiri groups, the civil society members including the business community, lawyers and the media persons participated in these gatherings.

Speakers paid rich tributes to the martyrs of 1931 who were gunned down by Dogra rulers outside the Central Jail Srinagar for raising voice for the liberation of the motherland from the Dogra rule.

Speaking on the sideline of special prayer meeting held in Mirpur on Tuesday morning Deputy Commissioner Ch. Amjad Iqbal and others strongly condemned the continual reign of state terrorism and violence unleashed by the Indian occupational forces in Srinagar and rest of the valley for last six years where hundreds of innocent Kashmiris including the young commander of Hisb ul Mujahideen Burhan Muzaffar Wani were martyred.

They paid glorious tributes to Shaheed Burhan and other Kashmiri martyrs for laying down the supreme sacrifices of their lives for the noble cause of freedom from the forcible Indian bondage.

Historic Significance of the Day: The Kashmir Martyrs' Day, or Youme Shuhada-e-Kashmir is observed on July 13 every year not only on both sides of the Line of Control but also all over the world by the Kashmiris to pay homage to 23 Kashmiris who were martyred in 1931 to free Kashmir from the brutalities of despotic Dogra rulers. The tragic day is the milestone in the Kashmiris' struggle against foreign occupation which still continues against the Indian alien rule.

The history of Dogra rule (1846-1947) in Kashmir is replete with brutal treatment of Kashmiri Muslims perpetrated by Dogra forces. Slave labour, heavy taxes, capital punishment for cow slaughter, and living under constant state-terror was order of the day.

On July 13, 1931, thousands of people crowded the Central Jail Srinagar to witness the in-camera trial of Abdul Qadeer. As the time for obligatory prayer approached, a young Kashmiri stood for azan. The Dogra Governor, Ray Zada Tartilok Chand ordered soldiers to open fire at him. When he got martyred, another young man took his place and resumed the Azan from the verse it was broken following the martyrdom of first Kashmiri speaker of the Azan. He was also shot dead. In this way, 22 Kashmiris embraced martyrdom in their efforts to complete the azan.

The people carried the dead and paraded through the streets of Srinagar, chanting slogans against Dogra brutalities. Complete strike was observed in the city which was followed by week-long mourning. This tragic incident shook the whole state and the traffic from Srinagar to Rawalpindi and Srinagar to Jammu came to halt from July 13 to 26, 1931. The 22 martyrs are buried in Martyrs' Graveyard at Khawaja Bazar,Srinagar.

The atrocities against the Kashmiri Muslims did not stop even after the partition of the sub-continent. The human rights record of Indian government in the Indian-occupied Kashmir has been terrible and is characterized by arbitrary arrests, torture, rape and extrajudicial killings.

Since 1989 when liberation of Kashmir entered a new phase, Indian military troops have been using all inhuman tactics of ethnic cleansing to disturb the majority population of the Kashmiris.

Today's Kashmir presents the worst possible case of state terrorism where Indian forces threaten to eliminate entire masses engaged in demanding implementation of the UN resolutions. Various methods of state terrorism such as breaking the leg, burning of a village, custodial killings, etc., are mercilessly used against the innocent Kashmirirs who demand their legitimate right of freedom. More than half of a million Jammu & Kashmir people have been massacred by the Indian military troops and security agencies so far during last 75 years.

Nevertheless, observance of Kashmiris' freedom struggle on the Kashmir Martyrs' Day on July 13 every year is reaffirmation of the fact that Kashmiris will continue to fight against Indian illegitimate occupation. In this connection, Youme Shuhada-e-Kashmir is an ideal day for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to seek inspiration to carry their struggle for freedom to its logical end.

In solidarity with the Kashmiri brethren, entire Pakistani nation and the government also observe Youme Shudaha-e-Kashmir.

The Kashmir Martyrs Day is also a message for Indians that if the people of Kashmir did not bow down their heads before the tyranny of Dogra rule, they won't succumb to the despotic Indian rule either.