BJP berated sacrifices of 1931 because they were made by Muslims: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah speaks during the Budget session of the J&K Assembly, in Jammu, Thursday, March 6, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday (March 6, 2025) said the “Kashmiri martyrs” of 1931 were berated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “because they were Muslims”.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) organised street protests in the Kashmir Valley, and sought an apology from BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma for his controversial remarks.

Speaking in the J&K Assembly, Mr. Abdullah called out Mr. Sharma for his controversial comments on 22 civilians who died in an uprising against Maharaja Hari Singh, a Hindu Dogra monarch, in Srinagar in 1931.   

“These 22 civilians sacrificed their lives to give a voice and seek rights. If these civilians were wrongly protesting, why did the Maharaja follow the July 13, 1931 incident with the constitution of the Glancy Commission and the Dalal Commission? It was because of these sacrifices that elections were held in J&K and Praja Sabha was formed, which resulted into formation of the J&K Assembly later,” Mr. Abdullah said.

He said the BJP chose to berate the sacrifices of 1931 because those who died were Muslims. “The only sin of these 22 civilians is that they were Muslims. Nowhere in India [do] people call those who raised their voice against monarchies and for democracy traitors,” the J&K CM said.

Mr. Abdullah said the fact remained that whether there was a holiday or not on July 13 and December 5, “no one can erase these sacrifices and the stature of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah from the hearts of the people”. 

The J&K Lieutenant Governor removed July 13 and December 5, the birthday of National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, from the official holiday calendar after the Centre ended J&K’s special status in 2019. Justifying the L-G’s move, Mr. Sharma on Wednesday said the civilians who died in the police firing of 1931 “were not martyrs but traitors”. In the face of protests by the Treasury Benches, the Speaker later expunged Mr. Sharma’s remarks from the records of the House.

Mr. Abdullah also launched a scathing attack against the BJP for disrespecting the Dogra king. “When the NC or PDP or Congress ruled J&K, we never changed any names, whether it’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital, Srinagar, or Sri Maharaja Gulab Singh Hospital, Jammu. The Maharaja’s legacy was a consolidated territory of erstwhile J&K, and State Subject laws to ensure jobs and land for locals. The BJP has done away with it,” Mr. Abdullah said.  

Mr. Abdullah asked the Centre to “take back Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)“ and offered support for it. “There was a chance during the Kargil war to wrest back PoK. Why didn’t you (the BJP) do it? Now, Union Foreign (External Affairs) Minister S. Jaishankar has said they will bring it back. They should do it now. What stops the BJP? What about another portion that is with China. Why doesn’t anyone talk about that?” Mr. Abdullah said.

PDP protests 

PDP leaders in Kashmir held street protests against the BJP. PDP leader Iltija Mufti carried a placard that read: “Martyrs of 1931 are our heroes”. “Calling them (the martyrs) traitors is wrong. The BJP always attempts to erase our collective history, our collective memory. We will thwart all such attempts, and want BJP’s Sunil Sharma to apologise to the people. You cannot tell us who our heroes are,” she said.

“Unfortunate that senior colleagues made such remarks. Understanding history is crucial,” Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader M.Y. Tarigami said while referring Mr. Sharma’s remarks.

“J&K was sold by the British, the same colonial power against which Indian freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh revolted. Why was Ladakh separated from J&K? That is what I ask the BJP,” Mr. Tarigami said, referring to the 1846 Treaty of Amritsar. 

He said it was NC’s Sheikh Abdullah who “ensured a dignified life for even the poorest in Jammu or Kashmir”. He urged all parties to “rise above political differences and demand what rightfully belongs to us, the same State founded by the Dogra rulers, along with our job and land rights”.