Daily Times

In the backdrop of the recently observed Youm e Shuhada e Kashmir (Kashmir Martyrs’ Day) on July 13, I start this writeup with a reference from the work of Prem Nath Bazaz, titled ‘Inside Kashmir’.

Talking about the killing of 22 Kashmiri Muslims by Dogra forces on July 13, 1931 outside Srinagar jail, Bazaz says: ” The driving force behind mass agitation till July 13 was discontent among rank and file of Muslims. The attack on jail was in no way directed against Hindus. The agitators were, in fact, fighting against an unsympathetic government. It was a fight of the tyrannized against the tyrants and of the oppressed against the oppressors”.

This reference suffices to explain the whole background of Kashmiri Muslims’ decades’ old subjugation as well as their struggle against oppression.

Those killed outside the jail had only gathered outside the prisons on the occasion of hearing of Abdul Qadeer’s case, to witness- and protest against- Qadeer’s trial on the charges of terrorism

It was a fight against an unsympathetic government, says Bazaz who has stated the complete reality, although he has tried to play safe by taking cover under three terms ‘unsympathetic government’, ‘mass agitation’ and ‘attack on the jail’. The proven facts of history are that neither the 22 Muslims brutally murdered outside Srinagar jail, were mass agitators in the strictest sense of the term nor were they attackers. They lacked the capacity and mobilization ability to launch an attack on a fully fortified jail. Those killed outside the jail had only gathered outside the prisons on the occasion of hearing of Abdul Qadeer’s case, to witness- and protest against- Qadeer’s trial on the charges of terrorism.

And, if at all one is adamant on believing that they were agitating, their method was decent and peaceful as they were doing nothing disruptive at a mass scale except for registering their protest by delivering ‘Azaan’ (the Muslims’ prayer call). It is a usual practice almost all over the Muslim world to deliver prayer calls in moments of extreme crisis and stress (besides calling the faithful to prayers).

Now, with this picture before us, can the Dogra government of those times be called just ‘unsympathetic’ that kills innocent, unarmed people in worship mode (delivering the prayer call) or in peace mode?

It was rather being more than mere unsympathetic. The government was, instead, cruel being under the command of tyrants who believed in merciless oppression and use of brute force.

Unfortunately, to the Kashmiri Muslims’ bad luck, this saga of tyranny and oppression has never come to an end to this day despite a lapse of seven to eight decades during which period the mighty, well-equipped Iegatees of tyrant Dogras, the Indian forces, have continued bloodletting of oppressed Kashmiris without any let or hindrance.

As such, the killings or martyrdom of Kashmiri Muslims is not only confined to July 13 alone. These martyrdoms have occurred every now and then, resulting in the martyrdom of thousands of Kashmiris seeking their legitimately due right of self-determination in the light of UN Security Council resolutions and in the backdrop of solemn pledges made in this direction by none other than India’s one-time influential Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

While concluding, it won’t be out of place to define the term martyrdom in the contemporary, worldly perspectives instead of in ideological or spiritual contexts alone. Having gone through a number of definitions made out in respective backgrounds, one common definition of martyrdom acceptable to a vast majority is : ” Martyrdom means dying with grace”.

The writer is a senior journalist and TV analyst