SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Saturday notified the official holiday calendar for 2026, detailing provincial, local, restricted, and bank holidays across the Union Territory through two separate government orders issued by the General Administration Department.
The calendar specifies holidays applicable to the Kashmir and Jammu provinces, along with district and tehsil-specific local holidays and bank holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
The Kashmir province will observe provincial holidays on the Friday following Shab-i-Miraj, Urs Shah-i-Hamdan Sahib on January 23, 2026, Mela Khir Bhawani on June 22, 2026, and Urs Sheikh Noor ud Din Sahib on October 8, 2026. In the Jammu province, Lohri on January 13, 2026, and Guru Ravi Dass birthday on February 1, 2026, have been notified as provincial holidays.
The government has also announced several local holidays limited to specific districts and tehsils. In Jammu district, Mahavir Jayanti on March 26, Mela Bahu Fort on March 31 and Good Friday on April 3 will be observed as local holidays. Kishtwar district will observe Urs Shah Farid ud Din Sahib on June 21 and Sarthal Devi Ji Yatra on July 21 and July 22. Bhaderwah and Bhalla tehsils will observe Kailash Yatra on September 9 and September 10, and Mela Pat on September 18 and September 19. Urs Shah Asrar ud Din Sahib on November 10 will be a local holiday in Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban districts.
Restricted holidays listed in the order include Parshuram Jayanti, Martyr’s Day of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, Kabir Jayanti and Raksha Bandhan. The government has clarified that all Muslim holidays will be subject to the appearance of the moon.
Meanwhile, another order outlines holidays to be observed by banks and financial institutions in 2026 under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. These include Republic Day, Mahashivratri, Holi in the Jammu province, Shab-i-Qadr, Eid ul Fitr, Baisakhi, Eid ul Azha, Independence Day, Eid-i-Milad un Nabi, Janmashtami, Gandhi Jayanti, Accession Day, Diwali, Guru Nanak Dev Ji birthday and Christmas, among others.
