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Veteran Congress leader Karan Singh on Thursday congratulated chief minister Omar Abdullah for deciding to reintroduce the centuries old tradition of ‘darbar move’, saying it would be helpful to overcome cultural and linguistic differences between the two regions.

Darbar move, under which the civil secretariat and other government offices used to function six months each in Srinagar and Jammu during summer and winter, respectively, was stopped by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha in June 2021, citing administration’s complete transition to e-office which could help save Rs 200 crore per year.

Abdullah on Wednesday met the representatives of civil society here and announced that his government will restore the Darbar move.

“We assure you that the Darbar move will be restored. Jammu has its own importance and we will not allow its uniqueness to diminish,” he had said after chairing over a three-hour long meeting at his official residence here.

“I congratulate the new chief minister for deciding to reintroduce the centuries old tradition of the Darbar move, started decades ago by my great ancestor Maharaja Ranbir Singh,” Karan Singh, the son of last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh, said in a statement.

“He realised that the differences linguistic, cultural and geographical between Jammu and Kashmir were so great that unless they were bridged, it would be difficult for them to stay together peacefully,” he said.

Singh said the Darbar move was a brilliant project which enabled a large number of employees, including senior officers, to move every year from one capital to the other.

“This was particularly useful for Jammu because its economy depended to a large extent on the influx from Kashmir every winter. Now that only the two units remain from the original State of Jammu and Kashmir, it is all the more necessary that the cultural and linguistic differences between Srinagar and Jammu should be bridged as far as possible, for which the Darbar Move will be very helpful,” he said.

The chief minister said some things cannot be weighed merely in financial terms.

“The Darbar move symbolises the unity and inclusivity of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a tradition that ensures governance remains accessible to both regions,” he said.

He dismissed financial arguments against this 150 year old practice which has now been stopped, stating, the role of the government is not to focus solely on profit.

“Our responsibility is to serve and ensure balanced development across regions. Ending the Darbar Move would only alienate the people of the two regions from one another and harm the collective unity we strive to preserve,” he said.

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