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:. Kashmir Tragedy: The Martyrs Day

Kashmir Watch, July 13

By Sajjad Shaukat

The Kashmir Martyrs Day, popularly known as Youme Shuhada-e-Kashmir isobserved on July 13 every year not only on both sides of the Line of Control but also allover the world by the Kashmiris to pay homage to 22 Kashmiris who were martyred in1931 to free Kashmir from the brutalities of despotic Dogra rulers. The tragic day is themilestone in the history of Kashmiri struggle against foreign occupation which stillcontinues under the Indian alien rule.

The history of Dogra rule (1846-1947) in Kashmir is replete with brutal treatment,perpetrated on the Kashmiri Muslims by Dogra forces. Under their rule, the life was

made so terrible and miserable for the Muslims that it was difficult to differentiate themfrom beasts. Slave labour, heavy taxes, capital punishment for cow slaughter, and livingunder constant state-terror was order of the day.

Sufferings of the Kashmiri people could be judged from the observation of YousafSaraf who in his book, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom calls it free forced labour andhe writes: instead of donkeys and horses, Kashmiri Muslims were used fortransportation of goods across the far-flung areas.

While describing the atrocities of the Dogra regime and pathetic picture of theKashmiris, Sir Walter Lawrence in his renowned book, The India We Served, wrote:army was employed in forcing the villagers to plough and sow, and worse stillthesoldiers came at harvest time and when the share of the State had been seized andthere was very little grain to tide the unfortunate peasants over the cruel winter.

However, under the tyrannical regime, political rights had no place; even the religiousrights had been denied to the Muslims of the state.

In wake of adverse political and religious circumstances, on April 19, 1931, the ban ofEid Khutba ignited widespread demonstrations in the Jummu city for a number of days.Meanwhile, desecration of the Holy Quran at the hands of Dogra forces resulted intooutrage among the Muslims throughout the state. In Srinagar, people gathered in JamiaMasjid to denounce this blasphemy. One such congregation was held in Khankah-e-Muella Srinagar, which was addressed by prominent Kashmiris. When the meeting wasconcluded, a youth, Abdul Qadeer, pointing his finger to the Maharajas palace, raisedslogans destroy its every brick. With the accusation of sedition, he was arrested.Abdul Qadir was to be tried in the court but due to large public resentment, the courtwas shifted to Central Jail Srinagar. In response to the shifting of court, on July 12,1931, intense public protests were held throughout the city.

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 youngKashmiri stood for Azan. The Dogra Governor, Ray Zada Tartilok Chand orderedsoldiers to open fire at him. When he got martyred, another young man took his placeand started Azan. He was also shot dead. In this way, 22 Kashmiris embracedmartyrdom in their efforts to complete the Azan.

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The people carried the dead and paraded through the streets of Srinagar, chantingslogans against Dogra brutalities. Complete strike was observed in the city, which wasfollowed by weeklong mourning. This tragic incident shook the whole state and thetraffic from Srinagar to Rawalpindi and Srinagar to Jammu came to halt from July 13 to26, 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 ofIndia. The human rights record of Indian government in the 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 troopshave been using all inhuman tactics of ethnic cleansing to disturb the majoritypopulation of the Kashmiris.

Todays Kashmir presents the worst possible case of state terrorism where Indian forcesthreaten to eliminate entire masses engaged in demanding implementation of the UnitedNations resolutions. Various methods of state terrorism such as breaking the leg,burning of a village, custodial killings etc., are mercilessly used against the innocentKashmirirs, demanding their legitimate right of freedom. More than half million peoplehave been massacred by the Indian military troops and security agencies so far.

The current phase of Kashmir struggle began on August 12, 2008 when Indian forceskilled Hurriyat Conference leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz along with five other persons whowere protesting against the government decision to give land to the trust that runs

Amarnath, a shrine of Hindus. On the same day, more than 200,000 Kashmiris marchedtowards the Martyrs Graveyard to participate in the funeral of Abdul Aziz. The policekilled 18 innocent Muslims by firing. While extremist Hindus who favourd the decisionof the government, but due to its revocation, started violent protests and economicblockade of the Muslims, emulating the Israeli siege of Gaza which resulted instarvation of thousands of innocent Palestinians.

Unlike the past, this time Indian-held Kashmir has become a special focus of worldsattention including India itself.

In this regard, Washington Post wrote on August 28, 2008, Despite the governmentsuse of force, many Muslims in Indian controlled Kashmir seem determined to findpeaceful ways to voice their aspirations as the nonviolent movement by the unarmedprotesters flourishes, especially among the young. Notably, recently, US and UK havestarted their efforts for the settlement of Kashmir dispute.

It is of particular attention that like the past, this time so-called elections were held inthe Indian-held Kashmir under the gunpoint, while all the Kashmiri leaders werearrested and detained. Nevertheless, under the new puppet regime, Indian similarbrutalities which have no difference from those of the Dogra rule continue in theValley. Difference may be in the tactics of state terrorism which has been refined by theIndian security forces and intelligence agency RAW. It could be assessed from thediscovery of nearly 1000 graves of the unmarked Muslims in the 18 villages of Indiancontrolled Kashmir in 2008. This tragedy surprised the international community,displaying new evidence regarding New Delhis state terrorism there. Besides, for thelast few days, aggrieved Kashmiris have been protesting against the rape of two womenwho were, later on, tortured to death by the Indian military troops three days before,another dead body of a young girl was found.

It is mentionable that composite dialogue between India and Pakistan took place on anumber of occasions, but produced no outcome, prolonging the agony of the subjugated

people of the occupied Kashmir due to Indian intransigence.

Nonetheless, observance of Kashmiris freedom struggle on the Kashmir Martyrs dayon July 13, every year is reaffirmation of the fact that Kashmiris will continue to fightagainst Indian illegitimate occupation. In this connection, Youme Shuhada-e-Kashmir isan ideal day for Kashmiri people to seek inspiration to carry their struggle for freedomto its logical end. At this time of distress, the people of Pakistan side with the oppressedones in sharing the grief of Kashmiri freedom lovers. Pakistan also observes YoumeShudaha-e-Kashmir, launching a protest against the oppressive policies of Indianoccupation, which keep on going against the hapless Kashmiris. The day is also amessage for Indians that if the people of Kashmir did not bow down their heads beforethe tyranny of Dogra rule, as to how they will succumb to the despotic Indian rule. .

Sajjad Shaukat writers on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs IslamicMilitants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in InternationalRelations .Email: [email protected]

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