'Keep it safe': J&K CM Omar Abdullah refuses to cut tricolour ribbon at a ceremony - WATCH

Jammu and Kashmir's chief minister, Omar Abdullah, refused to cut a tricoloured ribbon representation of the Indian national flag at an inauguration ceremony. He broke from long-standing ceremonial tradition during the opening of a high-profile Handicrafts & Handloom Exhibition on Wednesday (Apr 15). Abdullah requested that the organisers untie the ribbon intact and keep it safe.

This gesture, while visually subtle, carried profound symbolic weight in the politically charged atmosphere of Srinagar. By choosing to preserve the ribbon rather than cutting it, Abdullah effectively transformed a routine administrative act into a statement of high-stakes symbolic diplomacy.