Omar Abdullah

In Lucknow we have seen Akhilesh Yadav scaling the fence of Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre, ironically, built by his government, to pay respect to the iconic Socialist leader on his birthday in 2023, when the Yogi Adityanath government denied him permission citing security concerns. What could be the security concern in visiting a memorial is inexplicable. What is understandable, however, is that Akhilesh Yadav is an opposition leader. But Omar Abdullah is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He was denied permission by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on 13 July, to visit the graveyard of 22 Kashmiris who died on this day in 1931 in police firing ordered by the Dogra ruler Hari Singh. These people were part of a large crowd which had gathered outside Central Jail in Srinagar on the occasion of court hearing of Abdul Qadeer, who had given a call for revolt against the tyrannical rule of the king. For people of J&K this incident has been part of their freedom struggle which culminated when the ruler abandoned the kingdom along with his Prime Minister in the face of attack from Pakistan sponsored irregulars and Sheikh Abdullah took over the leadership of the state to fight along with the Indian Army to save Kashmir. 13 July is observed every year as Martyr