Indian Kashmir was hit Saturday by its biggest general strike since losingits semi-autonomous status last year, with local anger brewing over a newmeasure allowing outsiders to buy land in the disputed territory.
The Himalayan region has been divided and disputed between India andPakistan for more than 70 years and has seen decades of unrest that hasclaimed tens of thousands of lives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government changed theconstitution to bring the territory under direct federal rule last year,sparking protests and a months-long internet blackout.
Shops and businesses stayed shut on Saturday and most residents kept athome after a shutdown was called by a coalition of political and religiousgroups that want self-determination for the region.
Extra Indian security forces patrolled the nearly empty streets.
This week New Delhi announced the abolition of laws that meant only the 12million permanent Indian Kashmir residents could own land there.
Even Kashmir groups normally supportive of Indian rule have opposed thechanges, which also allow the Indian armed forces to designate strategiczones for building military infrastructure.
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Many Kashmiris accuse the government of seeking to water down the localpopulation in India’s only Muslim-majority territory.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah said Kashmir had been “put up for saleand left bereft of any basic protections”.
“The amendments add to the fear of demographic changes. They want to alterthe character of this place,” said Abdullah, who was among hundreds ofpolitical leaders detained for months during last year’s protests.
More than 500,000 Indian troops are based in Kashmir, where an insurgencyhas been waged against security forces for more than three decades. -APP/AFP