Rupee News

| RUPEE NEWS | Moin Ansari | Aug 29, 08 | معین آنصآرّی | اخبآٌْْر رپیہ | History

SRINAGAR, Kashmir: Hindus in Indian-administered Kashmir ended two months of demonstrations Sunday after the state government agreed to allow pilgrims temporary use of land near an important Hindu temple, an issue that had led to the worst protests by both Hindus and Muslims in the region in a decade.

Muslim separatists immediately rejected the government’s accord with Hindus and said their protests would continue.

“Our goal is complete independence from India,” said Masarat Aalam, chief spokesman of the Jammu-Kashmir Coordination Committee, which comprises separatist leaders and representatives of businesses, lawyers and government employees.

Muslims were angered by an earlier government plan to give the land to the temple.

Hindus called off their demonstrations after the government of Jammu-Kashmir state in India agreed to allow about 40 hectares, or 100 acres, of land to be used by Hindu pilgrims for accommodation when hundreds of thousands flocked each year to the Amarnath temple in the predominantly Muslim state.

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The title of the land will remain with the state government, said S.S. Bloeria, a government negotiator.

The crisis began in June when Muslims began protests over the government’s plan to transfer ownership of the land to the Hindu temple. The proposal was quickly scrapped, prompting protests by Hindus.

Unrest has pervaded the Himalayan region ever since, leaving more than 40 people dead, many killed by soldiers who opened fire on Muslim protesters who demanded an end to Indian rule over the region.

“We have suspended our agitation,” said Leela Karan Sharma, a leader of the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, a group that spearheaded the Hindu protests, after signing the agreement with state government officials.

The land near the temple will be set aside for exclusive use by Hindu pilgrims. The authorities at the shrine will be allowed to build facilities to house Hindus during the annual pilgrimage, which lasts as long as three months, Karan said.

Hindus danced jubilantly in the streets of Jammu, a Hindu-majority city, after the decision was announced.

Farooq Abudllah, a leader of the pro-India National Conference, welcomed the agreement. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir will live together in happiness,” he said.

However, protests continued in Muslim-majority areas of the state as the authorities relaxed an indefinite curfew for six hours Sunday.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Srinagar, the largest city, chanting “We want freedom” and “Release the leaders” during the break in the curfew.

Protesters hurled rocks at the police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at them, said Prabhakar Tripathi, a spokesman for the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force.

Nazir Ahmed, a doctor at Srinagar’s main hospital, said three wounded people, one with bullet wounds, were being treated there.

Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the People’s Democratic Party, which until recently was part of the state’s governing coalition, criticized the government for not consulting separatist leaders and other Kashmiri representatives before reaching the agreement with Hindu leaders.

The accord could have dangerous consequences because it “is a move to disrespect popular sentiment in Kashmir,” she said.

Kashmir has been divided between Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan since 1947, when the two countries fought their first war over the region in the aftermath of Britain’s bloody partition of the subcontinent. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety.

Islamic insurgents took up arms in 1989, hoping to win independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan. The fighting has killed an estimated 68,000 people.

Filed under: Current Affairs, India CA, Kash CA, Kashmir, Pak CA | Tagged: Azad Kahshmir, India, Pakistan