Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Saturday, June 6, 2026, shared a message from former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in connection with the Lavender Festival 2026 in Bhaderwah, Doda district.

Context

The post, shared under the hashtags #LavenderFestival2026 and #Bhaderwah, features a video carrying a message attributed to Ghulam Nabi Azad, the founder of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party and a long-time political figure from the Jammu region. The specific contents of the message are conveyed through the video shared by the minister.

Bhaderwah, nestled in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, has emerged as a prominent lavender cultivation hub in recent years, drawing attention as a model for high-value agri-tourism in the Union Territory.

Policy Backdrop

The Lavender Festival is an annual event organised with support from CSIR-IIIM Jammu and the local administration to showcase lavender cultivation, value-added products, and tourism potential in the region. The event is part of a broader push to transform Bhaderwah into a recognised destination for agri-tourism.

The roots of this initiative lie in the Aroma Mission, launched in 2018 by CSIR-IIIM Jammu, which introduced lavender as an alternative high-value cash crop for farmers in Doda and surrounding areas. Dr. Jitendra Singh has been a consistent advocate of the mission, frequently highlighting its impact on rural livelihoods in Jammu and Kashmir.

Since the 2019 reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory, the administration has systematically promoted medicinal and aromatic crops to diversify agriculture, generate rural employment, and build agri-tourism infrastructure in hilly districts that were previously dependent on traditional subsistence farming.

Stakeholders and Impact

Farmers in Bhaderwah and surrounding villages in Doda district are the primary beneficiaries of the lavender cultivation push, with the crop offering significantly higher returns compared to traditional alternatives. The local tourism sector has also gained from the festival's growing profile, attracting visitors during the blooming season.

The involvement of a cross-party figure like Ghulam Nabi Azad — a former Congress leader who later founded his own regional party — signals that the Lavender Festival has acquired a degree of broad political and social recognition beyond the ruling dispensation in the Union Territory.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the scale of the 2026 edition of the Lavender Festival and any policy announcements regarding expansion of lavender clusters under the Aroma Mission. Observers will also watch for state-level decisions on agri-tourism infrastructure investment in Doda district, as the model is increasingly cited as replicable across other hilly districts of Jammu and Kashmir.