by Ghulam Quadir Jeelani
The revival of the 154-year-old Darbar Move restores Jammu and Kashmir’s administrative tradition and economic links, but raises questions about public accountability, regional balance and governance during winter.
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 week will close in Srinagar on October 30, while those operating on a six-day week will close on October 31. The respective offices will resume normal functioning on November 2 in the winter capital, Jammu.
Historical Tradition
The Darbar Move is a biannual practice under which government functions for six months each in the two capitals, Jammu and Srinagar. The Dogra Maharaja, Maharaja Gulab Singh, is believed to have started the tradition of shifting the capital in 1872 to escape the extreme weather conditions in the two places. He used to shift his capital to Srinagar during summer and to Jammu during winter. Consequently, Srinagar became the summer capital and Jammu the winter capital of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The tradition continued after 1947, supported by the political class of Jammu and Kashmir, as it acted as a major bridge and a space for interaction between the diverse linguistic and cultural groups of the Kashmir and Jammu regions. When summer sets in, offices in Jammu close in the last week of April and move to Srinagar, reopening there in the last week of May. Similarly, during winter, offices shut down in Srinagar in the last week of October and reopen in Jammu in the last week of November.
Around 8,000 to 9,000 employees working in the Civil Secretariats, headquartered in Jammu and Srinagar, move along with official files twice every year. Hundreds of trucks usually ply to carry furniture, office files, computers and other records to the capital. The officials who move are also provided with travel fares and accommodation at both locations.
Contested Practice
Over the years, voices have been raised against the Darbar Move, which involves substantial expenditure to ensure the smooth conduct of the exercise. However, the practice has also enjoyed public support as it helps generate economic activity in both Jammu and Srinagar.
The government faced severe criticism over the practice, and the matter reached the court in 2020. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court observed that there was no legal justification or constitutional basis for the Darbar Move tradition. The court pointed out that the practice resulted in the wastage of a tremendous amount of time, effort and energy on an inefficient and unnecessary activity.
In April 2020, the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, deferred the biannual Darbar Move to Srinagar. He announced that the Jammu and Kashmir administration had completely transitioned to e-offices, thereby ending the age-old practice of the biannual Darbar Move.
Electoral Promise
During the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the revival of the Darbar Move remained a major electoral agenda for all major political parties, particularly the National Conference, Congress, Peoples Democratic Party and Peoples Conference.
The termination of this historical tradition had caused deep concern among the business community in Jammu, as the temporary movement of thousands of families from Kashmir provided a major boost to local trade. Against this backdrop, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference had promised the business community of Jammu during the election campaign that, if it came to power, the tradition would be revived.
Fulfilling its electoral promise, the National Conference government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah issued an official order on October 16, 2025, to revive the historical tradition.
Continuing this momentum, the government recently issued the Darbar Move order, under which government offices in Srinagar will close on October 30 and 31 and resume work in Jammu on November 2, 2026. According to the order issued by the General Administration Department, all departments of the Civil Secretariat Srinagar, including the Chief Minister’s Secretariat and 40 other offices, will fully shift to Jammu, while 50 designated departments and offices will operate in Jammu with limited staff.
The Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation has been directed to arrange buses in good condition for the transportation of employees travelling on October 31 and November 1.
To maintain administrative functioning in Srinagar during the winter session, a Winter Secretariat will operate at the Civil Secretariat Srinagar. Each department will identify one gazetted and four non-gazetted officials for deployment there, subject to the approval of the competent authority.
Costs And Benefits
The Darbar Move has its disadvantages alongside its prominent advantages. The tradition incurs heavy annual public expenditure of approximately Rs 200 crore, placing an additional burden on the national exchequer. This substantial amount could have been spent on education, healthcare, infrastructure projects and other developmental works. Furthermore, the annual process of office relocation causes various kinds of inconvenience to the general public.
On the other hand, the positive aspects of the process are also significant. The tradition strengthens administrative ties between the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir while maintaining regional balance and equality. It provides seasonal economic benefits to local business communities, and whichever region the offices are transferred to, the local public gains direct access to government offices. It is also a historical tradition that provides government officials with opportunities to closely understand the ground realities and issues of both regions.
Public Accountability
The revival of the Darbar Move is undoubtedly a welcome step, but there is an urgent need to seriously consider ensuring that this two-way office relocation does not divert the government’s attention from public issues. The public elects a government to solve its day-to-day problems and difficulties, holding it accountable for its actions. However, this accountability must not change with the relocation of offices, and the benefits of this tradition should not remain restricted merely to government employees or associated business classes, but must reach the common people as well.
Today, the people of Kashmir ask: when the government sits in Jammu during the winter season, how much attention will it maintain towards local issues in Kashmir? Will election promises now translate into practical decisions and ground realities, or will the voice of the public be sidelined once again?
Although the establishment of a Winter Secretariat in Srinagar has been implemented precisely to keep government work ongoing, the mere nominal presence of offices or their existence on paper is not enough. What is needed on the ground are active departments accountable for their decisions, ministers and officials whom the common citizen can easily access, and pragmatic decisions capable of resolving daily issues immediately.
The Darbar Move is an old historical tradition that can restore long-standing economic ties between Jammu and Kashmir, but under changing circumstances, public expectations have also evolved. Today, the real test is not to determine in which city the government’s office is opening, but rather how well the government lives up to public aspirations and expectations.
The seasons of offices may change, but the season of transparent accountability must persist twelve months a year, because the government’s primary duty is not just to shift its Darbar, but to remain accessible and ensure that public grievances are swiftly redressed.
(The author teaches at Govt Model Hr Sec School Zoohama. Ideas are personal.)
