J&K to celebrate Constitution Day for first time in its history | India News

SRINAGAR: J&K govt issued instructions Monday for grand celebrations of “Samvidhan Diwas”, commemorating the adoption of the Constitution on Nov 26, 1950. This will be the first such event since J&K’s accession to India in 1947.
Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha will lead the ceremony in Srinagar. Tuesday’s event will feature a reading of the Preamble by the LG and ministers from CM Omar Abdullah’s govt.However, Omar won’t be around as he left Monday for Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah in Mecca — a non-Haj pilgrimage.
On Oct 16, Omar became the first CM of J&K to swear allegiance to the Indian Constitution while taking the oath of office. His 17 predecessors had taken their oaths on the J&K constitution.
J&K operated with its own constitution and flag, with its head of govt designated as PM and its head of state as Sadr-e-Riyasat (president). These titles were replaced with CM and governor in 1965. However, the constitution and flag remained until J&K lost its special status when Article 370 was annulled in 2019 and the state bifurcated into Union territories, including Ladakh.