Srinagar, July 14: In an extraordinary display of political defiance and personal determination, Jammu and Kashmir’s former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his father Dr. Farooq Abdullah, and other senior National Conference (NC) leaders took unconventional routes—on foot, by auto-rickshaw, and even riding pillion on a scooty—to reach the Naqshband Sahib graveyard and pay homage to the 22 Kashmiri martyrs of July 13, 1931.
The tributes, which were denied to them a day earlier—on the official Martyrs’ Day—due to alleged restrictions and house arrests, became a matter of resolve and resistance on Monday. Police had sealed roads, erected barricades, and locked the graveyard gates in an apparent effort to block the leaders’ access. But the NC leaders refused to be deterred.
Leading from the front, Omar Abdullah turned the act of remembrance into a symbolic assertion of political freedom. Known for his athleticism even at 55, the former Chief Minister abandoned his official vehicle when police stopped it at Khanyar Chowk and instead undertook a brisk one-kilometer walk to the graveyard. Security personnel from his Z+ category detail struggled to match his pace as he strode ahead with purpose.
Upon reaching the locked entrance of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard, Omar shocked both his security and onlookers by scaling the gate with ease. His entourage and other NC members followed suit, vaulting the gate in an unanticipated act of nonviolent defiance, prompting police to eventually unlock it.
Meanwhile, National Conference president and senior statesman Dr. Farooq Abdullah, never one to shy away from unorthodox methods in his decades-long career, made his way in a humble autorickshaw after being stopped at the same point. The 87-year-old leader’s journey added both gravity and symbolism to the unfolding spectacle.
Adding a further dimension to the morning’s developments was senior NC leader and former minister Sakina Ittoo. Barred from proceeding in her official car, she stunned her colleagues and the media by reaching the site riding pillion on a scooty. As reported, she had spontaneously requested a ride from a passerby near the police barricade, underscoring the determination of NC leaders to break through the restrictions, both literal and symbolic.
Despite multiple attempts by the police to physically restrain the leaders from moving closer to specific graves, Omar Abdullah managed to brush past the resistance. Later, in a strongly worded post on his official X handle (formerly Twitter), he wrote:
“This is the physical grappling I was subjected to but I am made of sterner stuff & was not to be stopped. I was doing nothing unlawful or illegal. In fact, these ‘protectors of the law’ need to explain under what law they were trying to stop us from offering Fatiha.”
Accompanying the post was a video clip showing Omar’s firm resistance amid the scuffle, which has since gone viral.
The dramatic and unconventional efforts by the Abdullahs and other NC leaders served not only as a tribute to the 1931 martyrs but also as a powerful statement against what they called unjustified restrictions on their democratic rights.