Srinagar, Dec 13, KDC: The Lieutenant Governor–led Jammu and Kashmir administration has notified the official holiday calendar for the year 2026, once again omitting July 13 (Martyrs’ Day) and December 5 (birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah), keeping alive a politically sensitive issue that has repeatedly strained relations between the elected government and the Lok Bhavan.
The holiday list was issued by the General Administration Department through Government Order No. 1894-JK(GAD) of 2025, dated December 12, and covers holidays to be observed in government offices and educational institutions across Jammu and Kashmir during 2026 . According to Kashmir Dot Com, while the calendar includes national holidays, religious festivals, Accession Day and the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh, the continued exclusion of July 13 and Sheikh Abdullah’s birthday marks a continuation of the policy followed since August 2019.
Both dates were earlier observed as gazetted holidays in the erstwhile state. July 13 commemorates the killing of 22 Kashmiris during protests outside Srinagar Central Jail in 1931, an event long regarded as a defining moment in Kashmir’s political history. December 5 marks the birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, founder of the National Conference and the region’s first Prime Minister. These holidays were removed from the official calendar after the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory.
The issue resurfaced sharply earlier this year on July 13, 2025, when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with cabinet ministers, MLAs and party leaders, attempted to visit the Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar to pay tributes. The administration sealed the graveyard and stopped the CM’s convoy, citing security considerations. The incident triggered a political storm, with Omar Abdullah describing it as unprecedented for an elected government to be prevented from marking a historically observed day.
The following day, July 14, the Chief Minister reiterated that Martyrs’ Day was not merely a matter of a holiday but one of historical memory and democratic tradition. Political parties, particularly the National Conference, accused the administration of attempting to erase Kashmir’s political past through administrative decisions, while the LG administration maintained that decisions on holidays were taken within the existing legal and security framework.
After assuming office, the CM-led J&K government formally sent a proposal to the Lieutenant Governor and the Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking the restoration of both July 13 as Martyrs’ Day and December 5 as Sheikh Abdullah’s birth anniversary in the official holiday calendar. The proposal, according to ruling party, argued for preserving historical continuity and public sentiment, but it has not been approved so far.
The issuance of the 2026 holiday calendar without any change indicates that the LG administration has chosen to maintain the status quo. (KDC)
