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The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Restoration work at Srinagar's Vachar Nag Temple begins
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Secretary Atal Dullu and Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Akshay Labroo on Saturday (July 19, 2025) initiated the restoration and rebuilding work at the historically revered Vachar Nag Temple in Srinagar. The temple was abandoned in the 1990s when Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley in the wake of rising militancy in the Kashmir valley. The Chief Secretary, while reviewing different project components at the site, directed the officers to execute the work at a fast pace, strictly adhering to the set timelines and quality standards as envisioned under the project guidelines. He emphasised that the work was aimed at restoring the temple's centuries-old past glory and preserving its cultural and architectural legacy. Mr. Dullu said the temple held significant historical, cultural and religious importance, reflecting Kashmir's diverse cultural society. He said the renovation work would revive and preserve the temple's aesthetic, heritage and social values. The public, particularly members of the Pandit community from various parts of the country, participated in the event to initiate to restoration work and sought blessings from Shri Vachar Sahab. Earlier, the Chief Secretary was apprised that the work on the project is being executed by R&B Srinagar at a cost of ₹4.58 crore, which included conservation and restoration of the main temple structure, earth filling around the temple precincts to restore the site's original topography, construction of an entry gate to provide a formal and aesthetic look, construction of a toilet block, and desilting of the egress channel up to Gilsar Lake to be undertaken by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. 'This restoration marks an important milestone in the preservation of Kashmir's rich religious and cultural heritage, and the community looks forward to the completion of the project with great reverence,' Amit Raina, a member of the Zaara Foundation, said. The Vishwa Hindu Samaj and the Zaara Foundation welcomed the beginning of the restoration and rebuilding work at the temple. Mr. Labroo, who has identified, revived and restored scores of temples as the Deputy Commissioner of Budgam before, personally toured the Vachar Nag temple and took stock of the work. Mr. Raina described the initiative as 'a significant step to revive an important spiritual and cultural landmark'. In 2024, former Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya played a pivotal role in ensuring the start of the restoration efforts. He visited the temple site, once considered a hub of militancy in the old city of Srinagar. He had assured Hindu devotees of his commitment to support the temple's restoration. Meanwhile, Mr. Raina thanked J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for his personal interest and involvement in facilitating the grant necessary for the temple's renovation.
Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Indian Express
‘What signs of reformation has he shown?': Priyadarshini Mattoo's family relives horror of her death as killer seeks freedom
Hemant Mattoo hadn't felt this kind of rage in years. When he read about the Delhi High Court directing that the case for premature release of his sister's killer be considered afresh, it struck like a blow. But anger quickly gave way to disbelief when he saw the reason: the convict had shown an 'element of reformation.' Nearly three decades ago, his sister, Delhi University law student Priyadarshini Mattoo, was killed. She was 25. The accused was a college senior and an IPS officer's son, Santosh Kumar Singh. He had been pursuing her relentlessly in the months leading up to her death. On January 23, 1996, while Priyadarshini was alone at home, Santosh would be seen by a neighbour entering her house in the evening. She would later be found lying under her bed, with a room heater's cord wrapped around her neck — she had been brutally raped and murdered. For Hemant, the decades since her killing have been filled with recurring waves of fury. First, when the district court nearly let Santosh walk free, then when the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, and again upon learning that he was lodged in an open prison, afforded freedoms unimaginable to the family he destroyed. Speaking to The Indian Express, Hemant, who is settled in Canada, says, 'I want to know what signs of reformation he has shown. Has he apologised to my family? Has he apologised to his own family? He's never even approached us. He still maintains his innocence.' His anger mounts as he speaks further. 'He's been getting the mild side of the stick ever since he committed the crime. It's a joke that the justice system has played with us…' On July 1, the HC had directed the Sentence Review Board (SRB) to consider the case of Santosh's premature release afresh. Holding the SRB's decision to deny Santosh, along with two other prisoners, premature release as suffering from 'material procedural and legal infirmities', the court highlighted several lacunae in the current process undertaken by the board while deciding applications for early release of prisoners. A fresh decision is to be taken within four months. 'She faced months of harassment' Hemant vividly remembers that fateful January day. He was in Kuwait at the time when he got a call around 4 pm. It was from a family friend, who broke the news to him. 'The ground seemed to shift under my feet,' he says. By the time he reached Delhi, almost the entire Kashmiri Pandit community had gathered to pay their condolences. 'They first thought the murder was a militant attack. Then they got to know it was a guy who did it, a college student… Nothing like that had ever happened within our community.' Hemant pauses for a moment before saying, 'Well, apart from the exodus.' It had just been a few years after the Kashmiri Pandits had been forcibly exiled from the valley. The Mattoos had moved from Srinagar to Jammu. After Priyadarshini moved to the Capital to pursue her studies in Law, her father, Chaman Lal Mattoo, took up a job as chairman of a non-profit organisation in Delhi. However, their parents would soon notice how troubled Priyadarshini was in college. She had caught the eye of Santosh, a senior, and he was determined to woo her. In February 1995, he followed her on his bike and stopped her car at a traffic light. Priyadarshini responded by lodging a complaint at the R K Puram police station, where he signed an undertaking that he wouldn't harass her again. Six months later, in August, Santosh followed her home to Vasant Kunj and tried to break into the house. Priyadarshini went to the police. Again, the police made him sign an undertaking. By October, Priyadarshini's parents were aware of the routine harassment she was facing. She and her father approached the Commissioner of Police, seeking protection. She was subsequently assigned a Personal Security Officer (PSO). That same day, she debriefed the Dean of the Faculty of Law about the harassment, who, in turn, called Santosh and requested him to desist. Furious at her resistance, Santosh would attempt to get her expelled from college by accusing her of pursuing two degrees simultaneously. Priyadarshini had to give a detailed explanation to the authorities, reiterating Santosh's ploys of harassment. From then on, his behaviour saw an escalation. In November, he grabbed hold of her arm in college and refused to let go. This time, Priyadarshini filed a complaint and an FIR was registered at Maurice Nagar police station under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty). Santosh was arrested — before being let go on a personal bond, a signed letter promising the police that he'll appear in court when he is summoned. By December 1995, Priyadarshini was a nervous wreck. Hemant, who had come to Delhi for a vacation, recalls that she looked stressed. '… I remember she looked scared and stressed. When I asked her, she brushed it off as exam stress… she never told me anything. Later, when I demanded why I was kept in the dark, my cousins said nobody wanted me to worry…' By January next year, she was gone. The post-mortem report noted 19 injuries and three broken ribs. Santosh had also used his motorcycle helmet to bludgeon her head, a piece of evidence that would become crucial in the High Court case. When the helmet was submitted as evidence, it was damaged — the visor was broken, containing specks of blood. Moreover, Priyadarshini's PSO and the neighbour who saw Santosh entering the house would note in their testimonies that they had seen the same helmet with him, but undamaged and with a visor. During Priyadarshini's last rites, their mother confided in Hemant that they'd approached Santosh's father. 'They had asked him to make his son stop troubling Priya…,' recalls Hemant bitterly. But his father's faith in the judiciary was never shaken. 'He always believed the right thing would be done. He told me, 'We'll do it the right way, we'll take the legal route'… He sent me back to Kuwait as well because he was scared I'd do something stupid,' Hemant says. 'She was a tomboy, funny and fearless' Back in Kuwait, Hemant felt unmoored. 'Those days, I walked around like there was no life in me… She was eight years younger, she was my baby sister,' he says. He recalls Priyadarshini as a funny, gregarious, fearless and tomboyish girl. 'She was an incredible prankster. She would do this thing back when we were in Srinagar. When someone would come to visit our house, she'd tell them that their scooter was in the way and a neighbour had asked us to move it; could she have the keys? She'd then take the vehicle for a joy ride,' Hemant laughs. 'You could never be sad around her; she was always brimming with jokes. She was good at mimicry too — she only had to listen to someone talk once… Back then, she'd pick fights over politics with the boys in Nawabazaar. We used to say, 'We need to find a girl for this girl' because she was so tomboyish…,' he says. If Priyadarshini were still here, Hemant says, she'd probably have moved to the States or Canada after her studies. 'After we left Kashmir, we felt out of place everywhere. We were always looking for a place to settle down and put down our roots. He (Santosh) really took what little we had left,' says Hemant.
Hindustan Times
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Omar scales wall to pay tribute at martyrs' graves
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and his National Conference colleagues on Monday dodged police curbs, sprinted on foot and scaled a wall to pay tributes to 21 Kashmiris killed by the Dogra army in 1931, a day after several political leaders were allegedly not allowed to visit the Mazar-e-Shohada (martyrs' graveyard) in Old City area of Srinagar. Omar scales wall to pay tribute at martyrs' graves 'Paid my respects & offered Fatiha (prayers) at the graves of the martyrs of 13th July 1931. The unelected government tried to block my way forcing me to walk from Nawhatta chowk. They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sahib shrine forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me but I was not going to be stopped today,' Omar posted on X. Health and education minister Sakina Ittoo also reached the graveyard on a scooty, allegedly without any official protocol. NC president Farooq Abdullah also offered prayers at the cemetery. Omar also criticised lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and the police for allegedly trying to stop him and his entourage from entering the martyrs' graveyard. 'It is sad that on the instructions of the people who claim that their responsibility is the security and law and order, we were not allowed to offer Fatiha here. We were kept in house arrest (on Sunday)...' Omar told reporters after paying tributes at the graveyard. 'Barriers were raised, but so was our resolve. Today, we stood firm at the Mazar-e-Shohada, offering Fatiha, laying flowers, and honouring the valour of 1931,' he said, adding '...Attempts were made to stop us. We aren't slaves of anybody but slave of our own people.' Videos of the CM and his party colleagues scaling the wall of the cemetery were shared widely on social media. Omar said: '...I was doing nothing unlawful or illegal. In fact these 'protectors of the law' need to explain under what law they were trying to stop us from offering Fatiha.' A political row erupted after the incident. While BJP accused the CM and the NC of reviving the 'politics of graves to remain politically relevant', West Bengal chief minister termed the alleged action by the security forces to prevent Omar and others from visiting the grave 'shocking' and shameful'. J&K BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur said, 'Omar Abdullah is shamelessly indulging in the politics of graves just to remain politically relevant. By glorifying the events of 1931, he is whitewashing a day soaked in the blood of innocent Kashmiri Pandits. This is not a tribute, it's a calculated provocation.' Meanwhile, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said Omar should shift his focus on upholding the dignity and fundamental rights of the people now that he has 'tasted the bitter medicine of authoritarian high-handedness'. 'Power teaches little, Powerlessness teaches more! Today the CM sahab @omarabdullah tasted the bitter medicine of authoritarian high handedness and subsequent helplessness that common Kashmiri's face everyday in different forms, as all agency and space is denied to them,' the Mirwaiz said in a post on X. 'Hoping this experience shifts his focus to what is the first priority of every people- upholding their dignity, and their fundamental rights, and work sincerely towards its restoration,' Mirwaiz added. July 13 was observed as Martyrs' Day by mainstream politicians and separatists in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in memory of the 21 Kashmiris who were killed by the army of Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh during an uprising in 1931 when the region was a princely state.
India Today
14-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Video: Omar Abdullah scales wall to reach Martyrs' Graveyard day after 'house arrest'
In a defiant move against the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday climbed a railing along with his cabinet ministers to visit the Martyrs' Graveyard in Nowhatta and pay floral the video, Abdullah can be seen marching toward the graveyard along with his cabinet ministers, surrounded by police and security personnel. As the gate appeared to be locked, Abdullah climbed over it and scaled the wall to enter the the video, Abdullah wrote on X: "Paid my respects & offered Fatiha at the graves of the martyrs of 13th July 1931. The unelected government tried to block my way forcing me to walk from Nawhatta chowk. They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sb shrine forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me but I was not going to be stopped today." This comes a day after the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha barred leaders from holding any event commemorating the anniversary of the July 13, 1931 killings during protests against the then-ruler of the princely state, Hari leaders from the ruling National Conference Party (NCP) were put under house arrest on Sunday in a bid to stop them from marking Martyrs' Day 13 is commemorated as 'Martyrs Day' in Jammu and Kashmir as a tribute to 22 people killed by the Dogra army outside Srinagar's central jail in 1931. The Lt Governor-led administration had dropped the day from the list of gazetted holidays in an earlier post, Abdullah had compared the 1931 killings to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. "What a shame that true heroes who fought against British rule... are today projected as villains," he response, BJP national general secretary and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Tarun Chugh slammed Abdullah for likening the 1931 killings to the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy.'That was colonial brutality against unarmed civilians. July 13 was a communal mob trying to burn down the order. Do not insult our freedom movement by twisting facts,' he said.'This is not martyrdom. This is a cover-up of Islamist violence. And it's coming from the same man whose party stayed silent when Kashmiri Pandits were driven out at gunpoint (in 1990),' Chugh added.- EndsInputs from PTI
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Glorifying rioters': BJP, NC face off over Martyrs' Day tribute; Jallianwala Bagh comparison sparks row
Tarun Chugh, Omar Abdullah NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday accused Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah of glorifying rioters and rewriting history after he compared the July 13, 1931, killings in Srinagar to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Every year, July 13 is observed by many in J&K as Martyrs' Day to remember the 22 people shot dead by the Dogra army outside Srinagar's central jail. However, the day was removed from the list of public holidays by the Lieutenant Governor-led administration in 2020 after the region's reorganisation in 2019. In a post on X, Abdullah had said, '13th July massacre is our Jallianwala Bagh. The people who laid down their lives did so against the British. What a shame that true heroes who fought British rule are today projected as villains only because they were Muslims.' The BJP criticised the comparison sharply with BJP national general secretary and J&K in-charge Tarun Chugh saying, 'That was colonial brutality against unarmed civilians. July 13 was a communal mob trying to destroy order. Don't twist facts.' Chugh also claimed that the event was being used to whitewash violence and blamed Abdullah for ignoring the 1990 forced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. He accused the National Conference of glorifying Abdul Qadeer, calling him a British agent who incited the mob in 1931. 'This is not martyrdom. This is political fraud,' Chugh said. He added that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the BJP would continue to tell history as it happene and would work towards the justice and return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. J&K deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary responded by accusing the BJP of using communal politics. 'They are misleading the public. Talking against Kashmir gives them political benefit in Jammu,' he said. The political tension came after several leaders claimed they were placed under house arrest on Saturday to prevent them from visiting the graves of the 1931 victims. The Srinagar administration had officially denied permission to political groups to gather at the Naqshband Sahib Martyrs' Graveyard. Abdullah called the move 'blatantly undemocratic' and said that locking elected representatives in their homes and sealing graveyards was an attack on democracy. 'We will not forget their sacrifices,' he said. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said the mistrust between Delhi and Kashmiris will truly end only when India accepted Kashmiri "martyrs" as their own.
