Overview

• Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah climbed over the locked Naqshband Sahib graveyard gate on July 14 to offer fateha for the July 13 martyrs after police blocked official commemorations.
• Security forces had sealed access routes and placed Abdullah and other opposition figures under house arrest to enforce the lieutenant governor’s ban on Martyrs’ Day celebrations.
• Abdullah accused the lieutenant governor’s administration of unlawful force and alleged that the BJP-led Union government ignored Muslim martyrs to undermine Kashmir’s electoral mandate.
• His defiance drew support from regional and national opposition leaders, signaling a landmark confrontation in centre–state dynamics.
• The lieutenant governor’s office has yet to restore the Martyrs’ Day holiday or authorize official observances, underscoring a widening rift over Kashmir’s autonomy and historical narrative.