Srinagar: Faced with an inaugural ribbon in saffron, white and green stripes, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday refused to cut it and instead untied it and handed it back to the organisers with the instruction that it should be kept with respect.
Abdullah was inaugurating the 'Know Your Artisans' event at the Kashmir Haat here. In a moment that was captured by camera crews and quickly went viral on social media platforms, the chief minister was seen walking towards the ribbon stretched across and then stopping short as he noticed the colours of the tricolour. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, his advisor Nasir Aslam Wani and a host of others. The ribbon dispensed with, Abdullah went on with the rest of the proceedings at the Kashmir Haat in the heart of the city.
It is most notably against this background that at a formal event in Srinagar that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah refused to cut a ceremonial ribbon which was prepared in Indian national tricolour. The ribbon was crafted in saffron, white and green stripes, and was displayed at the Know Your Artisans exhibit at Kashmir Haat. After observing that the ribbon looked like the national flag, the Chief Minister paused only seconds before the inauguration ceremony.
Instead of sticking to the regular ribbon-cut ceremony, Omar Abdullah untied it and gave it to the organisers instead. He allegedly instructed them to retain it reverently. It made a lot of people in the event grateful for the gesture and was a respectful gesture to national symbols and traditions. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, adviser Nasir Aslam Wani and other figures were present at the ceremony.
The ribbon was removed after the event, however, and the event resumed smoothly despite that short break. The footage, caught by camera, soon lit on Facebook and other social media sites. It was taken for most of society in a spirit of adulation for the flag and its importance. “Know Your Artisans” is a chance to open up space in support of traditional craftsmen from the State of Jammu and Kashmir artwork and to present state Jammu and Kashmir artisans work. Such fairs such as these exhibitions play an important role in cultural heritage preservation and the local economy.
In other words, the moment was remarkable in that it wasn’t controversial, but rather in terms of the symbolic respect bestowed at a public ceremony, and to its credit, it underscored even more how entwined national symbols are with state ceremonies.
