Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The 131st birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh was observed across Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, a day after a heated exchange in the Legislative Assembly over the government holiday commemorating the former ruler’s birth anniversary exposed fresh political fault lines around the Union Territory’s holiday calendar. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha paid tribute to the Maharaja on his Janm-Jayanti, crediting him with introducing reforms aimed at public welfare and social empowerment, and describing his ideals of public service, equality and inclusive development as continuing to hold relevance today.
In Jammu, the Yuva Rajput Sabha organised a Maharally to mark the occasion, beginning from the Ban Talab area and proceeding through several parts of the city before concluding with tributes at the Maharaja Hari Singh statue near Tawi Bridge. The observance followed a cultural programme held by the same organisation on Tuesday evening near the statue and at Prem Nagar Park, featuring presentations on Dogra culture, traditions and the Maharaja’s life and legacy. September 23 has been a government holiday in Jammu and Kashmir since 2022, when it was formally added to the official calendar.
Wednesday’s commemorations came against the backdrop of a political controversy that erupted in the Assembly a day earlier, when National Conference MLA Abdul Majid Larmi demanded restoration of holidays associated with party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, warning that if those were not restored, the government should consider withdrawing the Hari Singh anniversary holiday instead. The remark drew sharp protests from BJP legislators, who opposed any move to withdraw the September 23 holiday and raised slogans in support of the Maharaja, with BJP MLA Devyani Rana calling it a long-standing demand that should not be cancelled. PDP MLA Waheed Ur Rehman Para separately called for restoration of the Sheikh Abdullah holiday as well as July 13 as a public holiday, while Congress backed restoration of a Sheikh Abdullah holiday while drawing a distinction from the existing Hari Singh observance.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather told members he lacked the authority to grant or withdraw government holidays, after which BJP legislators staged a walkout from the House. The September 23 holiday was introduced in 2022, while holidays marking Sheikh Abdullah’s birth anniversary and July 13 were removed from the official calendar in 2020, a decision that continues to generate periodic political friction in the Assembly.
