A political row erupted in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after the Union Territory’s administration led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha did not reschedule the public holiday for Eid-e-Milad from Friday to Saturday.

Eid-e-Milad marks the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. In the 2025 public holidays list issued by Jammu and Kashmir’s general administration department, September 5 was marked as the holiday for Eid-e-Milad. However, it states that the dates of all Muslim holidays are subject to the sighting of the moon.

On Friday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also pointed out on social media that the calendar printed by the Union Territory’s government had marked Friday as Eid-e-Milad “subject to the appearance of the moon”.

“The deliberate decision by the unelected government to not shift the holiday is inconsiderate and designed to hurt the sentiments of the people,” the chief minister said.

Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday that the administration’s decision had disregarded the sentiments of the Muslim community.

Farooq said it was the second consecutive year that the administration had failed to reschedule the holiday “in accordance with the actual date, which is tomorrow [Saturday]”.

“This deliberate negligence is unacceptable to the Muslims of J&K who strongly protest it,” he said on social media. “Equally regrettable is the silence of the elected government, who fail to take a stand on any issue of the people of J&K.”

Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti said that it was unfortunate that Eid-e-Milad was “not even being observed on the correct day” in J&K.

Mufti criticised the Abdullah-led National Conference government, saying that the ruling party was legitimising and normalising “such atrocious decisions” despite having a “brute majority” in the Assembly.

“India’s only Muslim majority state doesn’t even have the freedom to declare our cherished religious occasions,” she added.

Sakina Itoo, a minister in the Union Territory, said that the holiday was not rescheduled “despite repeated requests from the elected government”.

“Such decisions should be at the helm of the elected government,” she said on social media.

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