It is deeply disappointing and completely irresponsible that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has chosen the incidents of July 13, 1931 with a terrible Jallianwala Bagh massacre. This flawless and misleading comparison is not only historically wrong, but is a serious insult to the martyrs of India’s freedom struggle, who set their lives for the cause of freedom.
This was said by Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma in J&K Assembly and General Secretary, J&K BJP.
Sunil Sharma said that the massacre in Jalianwala Bagh in 1919 is one of the deepest and the deepest blood chapters of British colonial rule in India. On that frightening day, hundreds of innocent and unarmed Indians, including men, women and children, were closed in cold blood by British soldiers led by General Dyer, just to collect peacefully to oppose unjust laws. These victims were not part of any crowd. They were peaceful citizens who were demanding freedom and dignity from foreign rule. As Indians, remembering them is our collective moral and national duty.
Sunil Sharma said that whatever was in Srinagar on July 13, 1931 was not a peaceful opposition, but a violent communal attack, inspired by communal and politically motivated conspiracy against the Maharaja. The unrest began after an inflammatory speeches by Abdul Kader, a domestic servant of a British officer, seeking to incite religious passion. After his arrest, a frenzied crowd gathered outside the Srinagar jail, repeatedly warned, and attempted a storm on the campus. As a result, 13 persons died due to police firing.
However, the violence did not end there. Later broad communal targeting was observed. In Srinagar, areas such as Hindu and Sikh houses, businesses, temples, and gurudvars and even Rajouri, Mirpur and Muzaffarabad were attacked, looted, and were destroyed. It should not be glorified as freedom struggle. It was a dark chapter of communal violence, not a nationalist movement, SH. Sunil Sharma.
“As Sunil Sharma, I strongly condemn this intentional deformation of facts by Honorable CM, Leader of Opposition in J&K Assembly and General Secretary of J&K BJP.
Sunil Sharma further said, “Let us be clear that the victims of Jalianwala Bagh were the national heroes who fought against foreign atrocities. The violent rioters of 1931 were used as vested interests, demanding to destabilize communal harmony and reduce the native Dogra rule. In two incidents, there are fundamental forms.
For decades, history in Jammu and Kashmir has been manipulated for political loops. But with the cancellation of Article 370, a new era of truth and transparency has begun. Now it is our duty to recover our real history and educate our youth with facts, not imagination, he said.
“As a responsible public leader, I ask Omar Abdullah and his party to stop misleading a communal mob as martyrs. Such false equality not only disrespects the memory of true freedom fighters, but also sows seeds of discord between communities. It is unjust, dangerous and unacceptable”, he said.
Sunil Sharma further warned that comparing the sacred martyrdom of Jalianwala Bagh with communal violence of July 13, 1931, is not only a historic explosion, it is an dissatisfaction for the nation. He urged the people of Jammu and Kashmir to unite to reject this distortion and to defend our shared national heritage built on truth, sacrifice and unity.
