Jammu, Dec 02: A year after returning to power in Jammu and Kashmir and weeks after the historic restoration of the traditional Durbar Move, the National Conference is all set to mark the 120th birth anniversary of its founder, Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, with renewed vigour and official grandeur on December 5.
NC’s Provincial President Rattan Lal Gupta chaired a high-level meeting in the winter capital to assess the preparations.
The meeting was attended by district and block functionaries from Jammu and Samba.
A leader who attended the meeting said that the main function will be held at the iconic Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan in Jammu at 11:30 am, while similar commemorative events will take place simultaneously at all district headquarters across the Jammu division.
Speaking on the occasion, Gupta described the 120th birth anniversary as a milestone moment that coincides with the NC-led government’s determined efforts to reclaim the region’s lost symbols of identity and pride.
The NC founder’s birth anniversary (December 5) was a full state holiday until 2019, when it was removed from the official calendar.
With the NC back in power since October 2024 and the recent decision to resume the Durbar Move tradition, party leaders see the grand celebration as both a tribute to Sheikh Abdullah’s legacy and a symbolic reassertion of Jammu and Kashmir’s distinct political and cultural ethos.
Workers have been directed to ensure massive participation.
The programme will include floral tributes, special cultural segments, and speeches highlighting Sheikh Abdullah’s role in land reforms, secular politics, and the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India on his own terms.
Gupta also used the platform to congratulate the party’s newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs on their maiden speeches and expressed hope that the Government of India would honour its commitments by restoring full statehood during the current Parliament session—(KNO)
