The Darbar Move |
Upholding a 154 year old historical tradition, the Jammu and Kashmir government has officially issued an order for the annual winter 'Darbar Move' 2026-27, shifting the seat of administration from Srinagar to Jammu. According to the directives, government offices operating on a five-day workweek closed in Srinagar on October 30, while those operating on six-day workweek closed on October 31.The respective offices resumed normal functioning on November 2 in the winter capital, Jammu.
The Darbar Move is a biannual practice in which government functions for 6 months each in the two capitals Jammu and Srinagar. The Dogra Mahraja, Maharaja Gulab Singh is believed to have started the tradition of shifting the capital in 1872 in order to escape the extreme weather conditions in these places. He used to shift his capital to Srinagar during the summers and to Jammu during the winters. Consequently Srinagar became the summer capital and Jammu became the winter capital of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The tradition was continued after 1947 by Jammu and Kashmir political class as it acted as the major bridge and a space for interaction between the diverse linguistic and cultural groups of Kashmir and Jammu regions. When summer sets in, the offices in Jammu close in the last week of April and move to Srinagar and reopens here in the last week of May. Similarly during winter the offices shut down in Srinagar in the last week of October and reopen in Jammu in the last week of November. Around eight thousand to nine thousand employees working in the civil secretariats with headquarters in Jammu and Srinagar move along with official files twice every year. Hundreds of trucks usually ply to carry furniture, office files, computers and........