Kashmir observes Martyrs Day

Several Jammu and Kashmir top leaders, including Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Friday paid homage to the 23 people, who laid down their lives while protesting against the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh 76 years ago.

Srinagar, July 13 : Several Jammu and Kashmir top leaders, including Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Friday paid homage to the 23 people, who laid down their lives while protesting against the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh 76 years ago.

The day is observed as Martyrs Day.

Several leaders paid floral tributes in the martyrs graveyard at Naqashband Sahib in interior Srinagar.

Paying tribute to the martyrs, Azad said: "We remember the martyrs with the realisation that we are not under imperialist rule anymore. We get to choose our own representatives."

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People's Democratic Party leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed also paid homage to the martyrs.

All shops, businesses, offices and schools were closed as a mark of respect to the martyrs.

The 23 people, who protested against Maharaja Hari Singh's rule, were killed by his forces outside the Srinagar Central Jail in 1931.

ANI