SRINAGAR: On a day of deep symbolic and political significance in Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah alleged he was placed under house arrest by security forces soon after returning from Delhi, accusing the administration of detaining the elected government on Martyrs’ Day.
To borrow from the late Arun Jaitley Sb – Democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected.
To put it in terms you will all understand today the unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J&K. pic.twitter.com/hTkWlR0P0s— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 13, 2025
“To borrow from the late Arun Jaitley Sb — Democracy in Jammu and Kashmir is a tyranny of the unelected. To put it in terms you will all understand today: the unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J&K,” Omar wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The unelected government locked up the elected government.”
The unelected government locked up the elected government. pic.twitter.com/02HzO2ykaw
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 13, 2025
Omar had returned from Delhi on Saturday evening and, according to senior National Conference leader Nasir Aslam Wani, had planned to visit the Mazaar-e-Shuhada (Martyrs’ Graveyard) in Srinagar, a site long associated with tributes to the 22 civilians killed on July 13, 1931, while protesting autocratic rule under Maharaja Hari Singh and British suzerainty. However, police reportedly denied him permission and deployed barricades and vehicles to block his movement.
“Baktar-band (armoured) vehicles were parked at his gate, and he was asked not to step out. All residences of National Conference and opposition leaders were locked since morning,” Wani said.
The administration’s clampdown came amid strict restrictions across Srinagar, with the Lieutenant Governor’s office denying permission for any commemorative function at the graveyard. For the fifth consecutive year since the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, no official homage was allowed.
Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was also reportedly placed under house arrest. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone, and several NC ministers and MLAs faced similar restrictions, with many sharing images of locked gates and sealed roads leading to their homes.
Calling the move “a shame,” Omar likened the July 13 massacre to the Jallianwala Bagh killings, noting the martyrs had died resisting British-backed tyranny. “The people who laid down their lives did so against the British. Kashmir was under British paramountcy. We may be denied the opportunity to visit their graves today, but we will not forget their sacrifices,” he posted.
13th July massacre is our Jallianwala Bagh. The people who laid down their lives did so against the British. Kashmir was being ruled under the British Paramountcy. What a shame that true heroes who fought against British rule in all its forms are today projected as villains only…
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 13, 2025
“When you lay siege to the Martyrs’ Graveyard, lock people in their homes to prevent them from visiting Mazaar-e-Shuhada, it speaks volumes,” Mehbooba Mufti wrote on X. “July 13 commemorates our martyrs — they will always be our heroes.” She added that India could win Kashmiris’ hearts “only when you accept our heroes as your own, just as we’ve embraced Gandhi and Bhagat Singh.”
The day you accept our heroes as your own just as Kashmiris have embraced yours, from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Singh that day, as Prime Minister Modi once said, the “dil ki doori” (distance of hearts) will truly end.
When you lay siege to the Martyrs’ Graveyard, lock people in… pic.twitter.com/PjZpH7W8We
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) July 13, 2025
Sajad Lone called his house arrest “yet another attempt to erase collective memory.” “Histories etched in blood don’t vanish. The sacrifices of July 13 are sacred to all of us,” he said.
Not allowed to move out of home. Detained.
I don’t know why the union government is so keen to redefine what is sacred for the people of Kashmir. The sacrifices rendered on July 13 are sacred for all of us.
Denigrating these sacrifices and stopping everyone from going to the…— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) July 13, 2025
July 13 remains a pivotal date in Kashmir’s political consciousness. On this day, 22 people were killed by the Maharaja’s forces outside the Srinagar Central Jail while demanding the release of Abdul Qadeer, who had urged Kashmiris to rise against Dogra rule. Their deaths became the catalyst for political awakening in the Valley, eventually leading to the first-ever elections and the introduction of an Assembly under the Maharaja’s regime.
The day was officially observed until 2019, when the Central government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Since then, July 13 and December 5 (Sheikh Abdullah’s birth anniversary) have been removed from the official holiday calendar. In their place, the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh has been added as a state holiday.
