After the state Holidays-calendar was issued the other day, some political quarters started demanding more holidays and resumption of those that were discontinued post August 2019. What matters is whether the Union Territory can afford more holidays when offices and many other institutions already enjoy the privilege of non-working days crossing the number of 40. In the case of educational institutions, the number of holidays crosses the 100 mark on account of summer, winter, and other vacations. Similarly, in both government and non-government establishments, observing Saturdays as holidays further increases the number of days off, making a significant difference.
Under such liberal conditions with regard to holidays, is it wise to seek more off days on one pretext or another? It is an unjustified demand to commemorate an occasion by announcing a holiday; rather, commemorating an event or extending respect to an iconic personality like Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on his birth or death anniversary should be marked by accomplishing more work and making the day more productive for J&K, or for that matter, the entire country.
This is the right time to ponder and change the perspective not only in the case of 13th July or the birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah but in the context of other holidays as well. Take the example of the US, England, and several other countries, where the number of holidays is not more than 10 in a year. Wasting time in the name of holidays, when Sundays already exist for refreshing minds and bodies for the upcoming workweeks, is unacceptable and unjustified.
It also needs to be understood that development, governance, and service delivery suffer when frequent disruptions become a norm, as files remain pending, projects get delayed, and public inconvenience multiplies. In a region that already faces multiple challenges, excessive non-working days only compound inefficiency and erode the work culture that is essential for progress and accountability.
It is pertinent to mention that the holiday calendar issued by the government in J&K lists 28 general holidays for the entire UT, four provincial holidays for the Kashmir Division, three for Jammu, eight local holidays, and four restricted holidays. One can say that this bonanza of non-working days for the people of J&K is one of the reasons the region lags behind its counterparts in terms of development and productivity parameters.
