New Delhi: After a four-year break, the Jammu and Kashmir government has formally restored the 150-year-old tradition of the Darbar Move, the biannual shifting of the capital between Srinagar (summer) and Jammu (winter). Over the weekend, hundreds of government employees, along with convoys of buses carrying official records, traveled from Srinagar to Jammu in preparation for the move. The Civil Secretariat in Jammu is set to reopen on Monday, making the highest government offices fully functional from the winter capital.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who personally inaugurated the reopening, said that the suspension of the practice had been “an injustice to the people of Jammu” and had upset the regional balance in Jammu and Kashmir. “By establishing the ‘Darbar Move,’ I have removed that injustice,” Abdullah stated.
The Darbar Move, originally initiated by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872, was designed to ensure administrative access for people in both regions of Jammu and Kashmir. The tradition was scrapped in 2021 by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who cited cost-cutting measures and estimated that discontinuing the move would save around ₹200 crore annually.
However, the halt of the practice had a significant impact on Jammu’s economy. Local traders reported major business losses and repeatedly demanded the restoration of the Darbar Move. In 2022, the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries launched a campaign advocating for the tradition’s revival, emphasizing that it serves not only as a source of livelihood but also as a symbol of coexistence and communal harmony.
In a related development, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha issued an order making it mandatory for the Home Department and allied offices to operate from both Srinagar and Jammu, reinforcing administrative accessibility across the union territory.
