Omar Abdullah Scales Graveyard Wall to Pay Tribute, Slams Administration for Restrictions
SRINAGAR, July 14: In a dramatic turn of events reflecting both political defiance and symbolic resistance, Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with his father and National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah, and other senior party colleagues, forced their way to the historic Martyrs’ Graveyard in Srinagar’s old city on Sunday to offer tributes to the heroes of July 13, 1931, despite being stopped a day earlier.
The scenes that unfolded on Monday morning were unprecedented. With his vehicle halted at Khanyar Chowk by security barricades, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chose to walk the remaining distance to Naqshband Sahib, the site of the memorial. Determined and resolute, he led a brisk walk through the narrow lanes, with his personal security team struggling to keep pace. Upon reaching the graveyard, Omar found the gates locked. Undeterred, he scaled the wall to enter the premises—an image that now symbolizes a bold protest against what the National Conference terms as deliberate suppression of their democratic rights.
Omar was followed by his security detail and party workers, who clambered over the wall before the gates were eventually opened. The police had apparently bolted the gates in anticipation of their visit, hoping to prevent their entry. However, they were caught off guard when the Chief Minister chose to defy the physical restrictions rather than retreat.
In a show of equal determination, NC president and former Union Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah, whose vehicle was also stopped at Khanyar, opted for an autorickshaw to reach the site. Meanwhile, senior NC leader and former Minister Sakina Itoo stunned party workers and media alike when she arrived riding pillion on a scooty, reportedly seeking a ride from a passerby after being denied vehicular access.
Security personnel continued to obstruct the group even after they entered the graveyard. Omar Abdullah was seen being physically restrained as he tried to reach specific graves for offering Fateha (prayers). Speaking to reporters shortly after paying tribute, Omar sharply criticized the administration—particularly Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the police—for what he described as a deliberate attempt to prevent them from performing a peaceful and respectful tradition.
“It is unfortunate and deeply saddening that those responsible for maintaining law and order have instead tried to disrupt our efforts to offer prayers. We were effectively put under house arrest on Sunday. When I expressed my desire to visit the site, they responded by erecting bunkers and barriers late into the night. This was nothing short of an orchestrated attempt to suppress democratic expression,” Omar said.
Posting on his official X handle (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister shared a video and wrote, “Barriers were raised, but so was our resolve. Today, we stood firm at the Mazar-e-Shohada, offering Fateha, laying flowers, and honouring the valour of 1931. We are not anybody’s slaves. We are accountable only to our people.”
In another post, he recounted how he was forced to walk from Nowhatta Chowk and scale a wall due to the administration’s refusal to grant access to the memorial. “They tried to grapple me physically, but I was not going to be stopped today,” he stated, asserting that no law was broken and that the police must justify their conduct in obstructing a peaceful tribute.
The Martyrs’ Graveyard in Srinagar holds immense historical and emotional significance in the political memory of Jammu and Kashmir. July 13 is observed to commemorate the killing of 22 protesters by the Dogra forces in 1931—a moment considered a turning point in Kashmir’s political awakening. That the Chief Minister of the Union Territory had to physically defy restrictions to pay homage has sparked renewed debates on civil liberties, the status of elected leaders, and the friction between the administration and political parties.
The episode has also drawn strong reactions from various quarters, with critics of the administration calling the restrictions “undemocratic” and an “affront to the dignity of elected representatives.” Supporters of the Chief Minister hailed the act as a bold assertion of civilian leadership in a governance structure they increasingly view as tilted toward bureaucratic control.
As Omar Abdullah himself noted, “I did nothing unlawful or illegal. It is the so-called protectors of law who must now explain their actions.”
