The moving durbar

Over the years,the durbar move has become so entrenched in the state that even if there are no government orders for it,everybody knows that offices in Jammu will close on the last Friday-Saturday of April and pack up for Jammu on the last Friday-Saturday of October,says a senior bureaucrat. It would be unusual if there was no durbar move,he says.

Forty-one departments in the civil secretariat and 45 other departments set out from the states winter capital of Jammu after the Secretariat closes. Ten days later,on May 10,they begin functioning out of the Secretariat in the states summer capital of Srinagar.

The responsibility of providing vehicles to move nearly 6,000 employees lies with the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC). The preparations begin early. The departments that are to be shifted send teams of about half-a-dozen officers to Srinagar well in advance.

Security is a pressing concern. Sources say that a fairly large number of personnel is involved in guarding the 300-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway when the official convoy is travelling. Last week,when the durbar convoy carrying official documents and files left the Civil Secretariat at Jammu,nearly 150-200 policemen,led by a company commander,were escorting it. Another few hundred police and paramilitary personnelsenior police officers refused to disclose the exact numberwere deployed at frequent intervals all along the national highway from Jammu city up to Jawahar Tunnel,midway between Kashmir and Jammu,to ensure smooth passage of the convoy. SSP (Security) in the Civil Secretariat,Manzoor Ahmed,oversaw the entire processfrom packing and loading of records to issuing clearance certificates to drivers.

Jawahar Tunnel,named after Indias first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru,is an engineering marvel built at a height of over 2,100 metres above sea level. Connecting Banihal tehsil in Jammu region with Anantnag district of Kashmir Valley,the 2.8-km-long tunnel cutting through the gigantic Pir Panjal range was built by German engineers. One of the longest tunnel roads in Asia,it is considered Kashmirs lifeline.

Since the journey spans 300 km through hilly terrain,the Health Department has deployed medical facilities at various points along the route.

The durbar move has its roots in history. Over a century ago,Maharaja Gulab Singh,the first Dogra ruler of Kashmir,annoyed the British when he refused them permission to deploy officers on special duty and construct roads on the northern frontiers of the state. The British then began inciting the local Muslim population of Kashmir against their Dogra Hindu ruler. After Gulab Singhs death,his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh decided that the only way to get closer to his Kashmiri Muslim subjects was to take his durbar to the Valley for six months in a year. So for the first time,in the summer of 1883,Ranbir Singh took his entire durbar to the Valley for six months. In those days,of course,only 150-200 employees of Ranbir Singh,including his courtiers,would accompany the Maharaja.

Professor Hari Om,former head of the Department of History in Jammu University,says the durbar move failed to fulfill its promise of politically integrating the Valley with Jammu. If before Independence,it was Kashmir that wanted to be separated from Jammu,after Independence,it was Jammu that started demanding statehood.

The move may not have united the state,but any attempt to discontinue it has,in the past,evoked strong resentment. Like in 1986,when then chief minister Farooq Abdullah decided to bring only a truncated durbar from the Valley and Jammu held a bandh for a month,forcing Abdullah to abandon his plan.

The state BJP is adamant that Jammu remains the winter capital. The Kashmiri rulers have all along been conspiring to discontinue this durbar move tradition so as to deprive Jammu of the states winter capital status, says Khajuria. The expenditure is not much more than the amount spent on the maintenance of ministers bungalows and their cavalcades, he says,adding that this is the only link integrating Jammu and Kashmir.

Even parties like Abdullahs National Conference and the PDP favour continuation of this practice. The ruling National Conferences provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta and PDP general secretary Dhaman Bhasin agree that this is an exercise in integration.

But the ritual comes with a bill.

Moving employees and shifting office records,including providing a Move Travel Allowance of Rs 5,000 each to nearly 6,000 employees every time they have to shift,add up to only Rs 4.83 crore per shift,says Basarat Dar,commissioner-secretary general,administration department.

However,a big chunk of the expenditure is incurred on arranging accommodation for the employees,he says,adding that the government has to hire nearly 3,000 rooms at an average cost of Rs 300 per day for them in the Valley.

Sources say that when you take into account the cost of security arrangements and the renovation of ministers offices and houses every time they shift,the bill is quite steep. They add that the day-to-day functioning of the state government comes to a halt for nearly a month before the durbar moves each time,with almost every department busy making preparations for it. It is also argued that the government moves to the plains of Jammu at a time when it is needed more in the Valley to help people as they face the harsh winter. Officials in the state government,however,say that a mini-secretariat is set up in Srinagar when the capital shifts to Jammu,and vice versa,so that people in both regions are never without government presence.

THE JOURNEY

April 30

Friday,the last working day at the Jammu Secretariat. As the employees file out at 5 p.m.,trucks and buses of the State Road Transport Corporation begin to line up. A few labourers hang around,hoping to get some loading work the next day.

May 1

Workers,their frames bent under the weight of iron trunks,walk down Jammu Secretariats marble stairs. The trunks,filled with documents and files,are hauled on to a waiting truck. This continues all daythe steep flight of stairs only seems to lead down. But thats only for the six summer months,after which the secretariat will come back here.

May 2

The trucks and buses102 of themrev up for the 300-km journey. At 6.40,the first bus in the convoy moves,with a CRPF vehicle as pilot. CRPF personnel posted along the route keep an eye on the vehicles as they begin the climb to Srinagar. On the highway,if you are part of the convoy,it would seem like NH-1A takes you only one wayJammu to Srinagar. At Udhampur,about 65 km from Jammu,some vehicles in the convoy halt,the drivers hopping out for tea and food. The convoy halts nears Banihal,waiting for the laggards to catch up. After about 20 minutes,the CRPF personnel do a count of the vehicles and the caravan moves again.

Jawahar Tunnel is midway between Jammu and Kashmir. On the other side,the temperature drops a few degrees in what seems perfect justification for this shift. After security clearances,the convoy sets off again at 3.35 p.m. From here,the orders are strict: no vehicle can halt anywhere on the 100-km stretch to the Secretariat. At 6 p.m.,the first vehicle in the convoy reaches the Secretariat. The durbar is here.

Praveen Khanna