CM Omar Abdullah orders restoration of Darbar Move tradition in J-K

Jammu, Oct 16 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday ordered the restoration of the Darbar Move tradition in the Union Territory, fulfilling his promise to the people of the Jammu region.

The Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha-led administration had scrapped the Darbar Move tradition in 2021.

"Today, I have personally signed the official file, and I hope that the order will be issued soon. We are restoring the old tradition of the Darbar Move," Abdullah told reporters here while marking one year of his government in Jammu and Kashmir.

He added, "We promised the people that we would restore the Darbar Move. The Cabinet has taken a decision regarding its restoration and sent it to the Lieutenant Governor. The LG has signed and returned the file." The Darbar Move traces its origins to 1872 under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, the Dogra ruler who began transferring the royal court between Srinagar and Jammu to escape the extreme weather in both regions. Under this system, government offices functioned from Srinagar during the summer months and shifted to Jammu in the winter.

The exercise involved the movement of nearly 10,000 employees, along with records, computers, and furniture, with dozens of trucks carrying files and equipment across the Jammu-Srinagar highway twice a year.

Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Abdullah said, "Why was the Darbar Move stopped? It had been a long-standing tradition. Those who used to accuse us of not understanding the history of Jammu and Kashmir before 1947, and of not respecting the great personalities of the region — let it be known that no one has damaged their legacy more than the BJP." Opposition parties and traders had been strongly advocating for the restoration of the Darbar Move for years.

While officials often cited weather conditions and employee convenience as reasons for continuing the tradition, critics called it cumbersome and costly, draining nearly Rs 200 crore annually from the exchequer.

The Sinha administration had argued in 2021 that the money saved by ending the practice could be better utilised for public services and that the digitisation of records had made the physical move unnecessary.

Abdullah had declared in December 2023 that if his National Conference returned to power, it would restore the Darbar Move — a promise now fulfilled. PTI AB MPL MPL