SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Friday rejected the remarks on the 1931 martyrs by some quarters as horrendous and obnoxious, saying the day marked the open revolt against a despotic, pitiless and tyrant autocratic government.
Reacting sharply to the obnoxious remarks emanating from some untutored sections against the martyrs of 1931, party spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said such brutish assertions against the martyrs who laid their lives for the dignity and self-respect shows the disdain the scions of erstwhile autocrats hold for the cherished values of democracy.
“The party had on various occasions rejected such assertions from time to time as having emanated from the untutored and communal elements. The uprising of 1931 was that of an oppressed against the oppressors, of defenceless against the armed, of poor against the landed gentry. The day marked the commencement of a peaceful struggle by the unarmed people against the then anti-Muslim and anti-people government,” he said.
“A ruthless autocratic government that taxed almost everything under sky, leaving just water and air for free for the poor masses. Such uncouth and untaught assertions of erstwhile autocratic scion cannot help him exonerate his family from unleashing the worst torments on the people of Kashmir in the shape of forced-labor (Begaar); the taxes were even levied on the cattle, marriages, and houses. The autocratic regime deputed revenue teams who used to collect revenue in kind for which sepoys were disputed to villages that used to create havoc in the villages. The revenue was collected with such severity and harshness that the cultivators had to sell even their belongings including cattle and sheep,” he added.
He said the worst feature of the worst attribute of the Dogra rule was its communal outlook. “It discriminated the Muslims on the basis of their religion and also interfered in their religious affairs. The Muslims were particularly marginalized. There was no Muslim representation in government offices. There was not a single Muslim gazetted officer in most of the departments, like defense, hunting, scientific research, libraries, archaeology, and agriculture. Major Muslim mosques were converted into Stables and stores,” he said adding,
“It was due to the supreme and sacred sacrifice of the martyrs of 1931 that the state finally got the freedom after 118 years. And it was Sher e Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah who painstakingly strived towards the fulfillment of the mission of martyrs of 1931. The coming generations will continue to draw inspiration from the martyrs of 1931. The supreme sacrifice of the martyrs will continue to guide our party in all its future endeavors.”