Mehbooba Mufti must be laughing in her sleeves for the manner in which her People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has triggered clashes between the ruling National Conference (NC) and the BJP in J&K legislative assembly. PDP member Wahid Para made certain comments about events that led to the killing of 21 Kashmiri Muslims in 1931. Calling these people as martyrs and Maharaja Hari Singh as a dictator, Para said July 13 holiday should be restored as also the birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on December 5 every year.
This led to a strong reaction from BJP leader Sunil Sharma who called those who had died that day as traitors who had risen against the Maharaja who were punished for indulging in arson and uprising against the ruler. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather expunged Sharma’s remarks from the records of the assembly proceedings and this led to a walk-out by the BJP.
In the 90-member House, the PDP has only three members and Para leads the pack setting the agenda for them. On this occasion, by his cunning and what seemed like innocuous remarks, he managed to upset whatever plans the government had regarding issues to be discussed in the assembly. He managed to anger the BJP and the past couple of days, the agenda discussed has only been this issue.
In the previous assembly session held in November 2024 in Srinagar too, Para had virtually set the cat among the pigeons by raking up the issue of Article 370. Sharp polarisation that exists between the NC and the BJP on this issue too is unbridgeable because of their diametrically opposite views. This has been used both in Srinagar earlier, and in Jammu now, by the PDP to drive the discussions in the assembly.
Incidentally, perhaps recounting what had led to July 13, 1931, events in Srinagar during Maharaja Hari Singh’s reign will help gain useful insights.
In 1930, during a trip to London where he spoke on behalf of the Indian Princes, Maharaja Hari Singh said that he was an Indian, something that greatly angered the British who ruled large parts of India at that time. After this, once he returned back home after that trip, the British attempts to upstage the Maharaja started in right earnest. The British were then desperate to gain control over Gilgit-Baltistan areas but the Maharaja had foiled all their plans.
A man from Peshawar, Abdul Qadir Khan, was then hired and sent to Srinagar to ostensibly as a cook for a British man living there. No accounts of his cooking skills are available but Qadir sure knew how to foment trouble and instigate the religious sentiments of local Muslims. He quoted extensively from Quran and swore on it at Khanqah e Mola in Srinagar that if Kashmiri Muslims rose up against the Maharaja, they will be able to overthrow him.
As an outsider working for a British citizen, Qadir held several secret meetings and constantly instigated for the overthrow of the Maharaja. On one occasion, pointing towards Hari Parbat, signifying the seat of power of Dogra Hindu rulers, he said the place needs to be burnt down. When the intelligence agents had gathered enough evidence against Qadir, he was arrested and charged with sedition for he had been promoting seditious activities among the Maharaja’s subjects.
His arrest and subsequent trial on sedition charges spread panic among those who were hobnobbing with him that they too could face punishment for their activities. On the days of trial, large crowds used to gather and this led to disruptions in smooth conduct of the proceedings. Taking cognisance of this, a magistrate then ordered that the trial be held differently from how it was being conducted so far.
On July 13, 1931, a large crowd gathered shouting slogans in favour of Qadir, a Peshawar man and no subject of the Maharaja. As the crowd swelled, it started shouting slogans against the Maharaja also claiming Qadir had done no wrong and should be set free. Several instigators among the crowd also threatened that they could easily overpower the policemen present there, disarm them and set Qadir free.
It was then that these people were ordered to disperse and not create impediment in the way of Qadir’s trial who had advocated sedition and overthrow of the Maharaja. But instead of dispersing peacefully, the crowd started pelting stones at the policemen and Hindu shops. A magistrate present then ordered a baton charge and later firing fearing lynching to those on duty to control the crowd. In this firing, 21 locals were killed and they were declared martyrs who died fighting against the Maharaja.
There were already also reports of selective targeting of Hindu shops, be it that of Kashmiris or Dogra Khatris in many parts of Kashmir. Some reports of looting and burning down of shops owned by Hindus from Bohri Kadal, Nawabazar and elsewhere. Kashmiri Hindus mark this day, July 13, as a Black Day as their shops were targeted and burnt.
Decades later, the state government declared July 13 as “Martyrs’ Day’’ and declared a holiday on that day. This continued till August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated and later this government holiday was scrapped. At that time, the holiday on the occasion of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, founder of the NC, was also abolished.
Qadir was sure a traitor against the Maharaja as he spread discontent among his subjects and those who supported him were no different. There are sharp divisions on the issue of how to mark the incidents of July 13, 1931. Among a section of Kashmiri Muslims, there is support for declaring these people as martyrs but Kashmiri Hindus as also Dogras call them as traitors.
This is why BJP legislature party leader objected to PDP legislator terming those who died on July 13 as martyrs. Most NC legislators subscribe to the interpretation given to the events of the day by Para and this is the reason why they maintained silence when insulting words were spoken about Maharaja Hari Singh, a patriot who had acceded to India on October 26, 1947.
