The J&K government’s official holiday list for year 2025 on Monday (December 30, 2024) faced criticism from ruling National Conference (NC) for not including party founder Sheikh Abdullah’s birth or death anniversary and July 13, 1931 in the list.
The official holiday list released for the five-year-old Union Territory (UT), after the approval of the Raj Bhawan on Sunday evening, discarded the ruling NC’s proposal to include NC founder Abdullah, who is behind the ratification of the Instrument of Accession in 1948, in the list.
Another proposal to include July 13, 1931, which saw an uprising against the Dogra monarchy, has been disapproved. Prior to downgrading of J&K into a UT in 2019, July 13 was observed as ‘Martyrs’ Day’, to commemorate the killing of at least 22 civilians by security personnel of the Dogra king during an uprising. The Central government dropped the anniversaries of Sheikh Abdullah and July 13 from the official list of holidays in December 2019. Instead, the L-G government included the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh, the Dogra king, on September 23 and Accession Day on October 26 as holidays.
“Today’s list of holidays and the decision reflects the BJP’s disregard for Kashmir’s history and democratic struggle. While we had hoped for the inclusion of holidays commemorating leaders like Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and the martyrs of July 13, their absence does not diminish their significance or our legacy. These holidays will be restored one day,” NC leader and legislator Tanvir Sadiq said.
M.Y. Tarigami, CPI(M) leader and legislator from Kulgam, also reacted sharply to the move. “It is very unfortunate that July 13 and December 5 have been dropped from the list of holidays for the 2025 calendar year. July 13 holds immense historical significance for J&K, as it commemorates the sacrifice of those who laid down their lives protesting against autocratic rule and advocating for human dignity,” Mr. Tarigami said.
He said December 5, which is Sheikh Sahib’s birthday, “is a day of great importance”. “Sheikh Sahab and his colleagues made great contributions toward empowering people by democratizing society, implementing radical land reforms, introducing free education and empowering women as part of the Naya Kashmir manifesto. Attempts made to erase such pivotal milestones from our collective memory undermines the values they represent. Distorting history in this way will serve no purpose,” he added.
The NC formed the first elected government of the UT in October this year after winning a record 42 seats in the 90-member Assembly. However, the Raj Bhawan and the Chief Minister’ s offices remain on a collision course on many issues.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed shock and dismay over the exclusion of July 13 Martyrs’ Day from the list of gazetted holidays for 2025. “The decision is a betrayal of the aspirations of the people who had voted en masse for the NC in the hope of better representation of their sentiments. July 13, 1931, is a historic day—not just for the people of Kashmir but for anyone who believes in standing up to autocratic rule and speaking truth to power. The removal of this holiday is a blow to the collective memory and emotions of the Kashmiri people,” PDP General Secretary Mohammad Khurshid Alam said.
He accused the NC-led government of failing to honour its promises, despite receiving a massive mandate from the people.
Published – December 30, 2024 02:01 pm IST