CPI(M) leader and MLA Kulgam Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, while paying glowing tributes to July 13, 1931 martyrs, has said making Jammu and Kashmir a true democratic unit and doing away with the autocratic tendencies in the system is a real reward to the great people who laid down their lives for this cause.In a statement to CNS, Tarigami said: “the martyrs are signposts of human rights protection, courage and sacrifice, rich values which should guide us in our political and social life.”Saying that the State of J&K has glorious tradition of societal harmony which has survived many challenges, he expressed his apprehensions that certain elements are trying to divide people on sectarian lines for their narrow political ends. “Those elements who are trying to shatter the secular and plural ethos of our State should not be allowed to succeed in their nefarious designs,” he cautioned.Tarigami said the Martyr’s Day serves us as a reminder to protect and promote the rights of people and not succumb to pressures of different shades of vested interest.“By virtue of supreme sacrifices offered by the martyrs, the State has made significant strides including landmark Agrarian Reforms, but much more is needed to be done to accomplish their (martyrs) mission. Protecting the livelihood rights of the common man and the democratic aspirations of the people of each region and community remains a foremost task for all of us. It becomes imperative to remind ourselves to steadfastly work for the unity of our people and not to allow the communal and divisive forces succeed in their nefarious designs.” (CNS)