Politics
Jammu and Kashmir marks Hari Singh birthday holiday
The Hindu··2d ago
Jammu and Kashmir observed a September 23 holiday for Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh's birth anniversary, added in 2022 by the Lieutenant Governor's administration. BJP events in Srinagar and Jammu praised his 1947 accession. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah highlighted Sheikh Abdullah and accused the BJP of rewriting history. NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq said Sheikh Abdullah's anniversaries were removed.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Government offices and schools followed the September 23 holiday for Hari Singh's birth anniversary.
- Political rallies may continue as parties dispute whose legacy the official calendar should honour.
- Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha posted a tribute calling Hari Singh an enlightened statesman on X.
What's Happening
- BJP Waqf Board chair Darakshan Andrabi said accession in 1947 kept Jammu and Kashmir with India.
- Abdullah accused the BJP of presenting history differently whenever it disagreed with a narrative.
- Sadiq contrasted land-reform holidays removed for Sheikh Abdullah with the new ruler commemoration.
Holiday politics since 2022
- The LG administration added Hari Singh's birthday while removing Sheikh Abdullah birth and death anniversaries.
- NC leaders frame the shift as erasing a leader associated with land reforms empowering tillers.
- Andrabi described Hari Singh's court as inclusive across Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian communities.
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