Srinagar, July 13: After not being allowed to visit the Martyrs Grave Yard at Naqashbandh Sahab Srinagar to pay tribute to 13 July 1931 Martyrs at the grave yard, Attempts to distort & rewrite Kashmir’s history is being done after govt. locked up gates of the graveyard of 1931 martyrs on martyrs day. 

PDP President and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti took to twitter to vent her ‘anger’ saying that: “Today on the occasion of Martyr’s day, gates leading to their graveyards have been locked up. Attempts to distort & rewrite Kashmir’s history is being done only to create a sense of defeat & helplessness amongst Kashmiris.”

She further wrote: “Nevertheless as we pay homage to the heroes of 13th July, 1931 our resolve to strive for restoration of J&Ks dignity remains firm.”

PDP senior leader and former Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura told news agency Kashmir News Trust that they were left with no option but to organize a function at their party headquarters to pay respect to 13 July martyrs. “These martyrs laid down their lives just to drag us from darkness to light. Why it has now become a crime to pay respect to these martyrs. We will always commemorate this day, come what may,” he said.

Several PDP leaders including Mehbooba Mufti, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Nayeem Akhtar and others participated in the function to pay tribute to 13 July martyrs.

Meanwhile Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday paid glowing tributes to the July 13 martyrs, stating that their role in Jammu and Kashmir’s freedom struggle can neither be undone nor can be forgotten.

Party Chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti while paying tributes said that on Martyrs day gates leading to their graveyards have been locked up. Attempts to distort and rewrite Kashmir`s history is being done to create a sense of defeat and helplessness amongst Kashmiris.

“Nevertheless as we pay homage to the heroes of 13th July 1931 our resolve to strive for restoration of J&K’s dignity remains firm”, she said.

Meanwhile, the party organised a commemoration event to pay homage to the martyrs at the party headquarters in Srinagar. The event was attended and addressed by senior leaders of the party.

In a statement issued here, Party spokesperson said that the memory of 13th July martyrs cannot be erased by stopping us from paying homage at the graveyard and offering Fateha Khwani as the brave hearts will live forever in the hearts and memories of every freedom loving democrat.

Speaking at the commemoration event party General Secretary G N Lone Hanjura said that PDP reiterates its commitment to the objectives of justice, empowerment and democratic rights that the martyrs have laid their lives down for.

“We will continue to struggle to resist demographic change, disempowerment, and oppression through democratic, constitutional and non violent means to rebuild the state in accordance with our traditions of tolerance, accommodation and amity,” he said.

Senior party Leader and former Minister Aasiya Naqash said that the martyrs laid down their lives for the empowerment of the people of J&K , for the cause of democracy, rejecting the suffocating religious, political and economic conditions imposed on the people.

“The call for Azaan of those brave hearts still reverberates in every nook and corner of the valley. This government should stop internalising its own propaganda and open its eyes to the reality and course correct its policies,” she said.

Party Chief Spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said that while we are barred from even offering fateha to our martyrs, no amount of coercion can take them, their memory,their respect and their contribution out of our hearts.

“Attempts to rewrite our history by reworking official calenders cannot change our history. Our history and our heroes live in our hearts. Collective memory of a nation can’t be erased.

Though the incident happened in 1931 but the fact remains that even 2021 feels like 1931.Our martyrs inspire us in our struggle for our identity and rights, “Bukhari said.

“Our people have shown remarkable resilience and valiantly braved the brutal assaults on our identity and shared history. These assaults are directed to brand our thriving civilisation as an aberration bereft of history and drill a sense of helplessness into our psyche. We reiterate our firm resolve today to strive for the restoration of J&K’s dignity. Democratic means will be our compass and restoration of constitutional positions our goal, “the statement further said.