Onlykashmir.in News Desk
A group of Sikh citizens held a press conference in Srinagar on Wednesday, expressing gratitude to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for considering their request to construct a memorial honouring Sikh martyrs of the 1947 Tribal Raid, reviving public attention on a chapter of Kashmir’s history that community members say has remained under-documented for decades.
The gathering opened with a two-minute silence observed in memory of those who lost their lives during the invasion, as participants recalled the sacrifices made by Sikh families across Baramulla, Budgam, Kamraz and Karnah while resisting the advancing raiders in the turbulent weeks following independence. Speakers described the 1947 raid as a defining and traumatic episode for Kashmir’s Sikh community, one whose human cost, they said, has not received adequate institutional recognition over the years.
Commodore D.S. Sodhi (Retd.) highlighted the contribution and sacrifices of Kashmiris, particularly the Sikh community, during the events of 1947, and also recalled instances of support extended by members of other communities during that period, describing such gestures as an important part of Kashmir’s shared history and its spirit of communal solidarity. He framed the proposed memorial as a tribute not to one community in isolation, but to a collective experience of resistance and survival shared across religious lines.
S. Kirat Singh, DIG (Retd.), shared his personal recollections of the violence, looting and arson witnessed during the period, offering a first-hand account that speakers said underscored the urgency of preserving survivor testimony while it remains available. Dr Komal J.B. Singh stressed the need to systematically document survivor accounts for future generations, warning that oral histories of the period risk being lost as the generation that lived through the raid grows smaller each year.
Dr Jagmeet Kaur Bali and author S. Ajit Singh Mastana also spoke at the event, both underlining the importance of documenting the sacrifices and resistance shown by the Sikh community during the raid, and calling for greater academic and public engagement with this period of Kashmir’s history.
The group formally urged the Administration to construct the memorial at an appropriate and historically significant location, seeking time-bound action from the Lieutenant Governor’s office rather than an open-ended commitment. They said the proposed memorial would serve not only as a tribute to the Sikh martyrs of 1947, but also as a broader symbol of Kashmir’s shared suffering, courage, humanity and communal solidarity during one of the most tragic periods in the region’s modern history.
Meta Description: Sikh community leaders in Srinagar thank LG Manoj Sinha for considering a memorial to Sikh martyrs of the 1947 Tribal Raid.
