Kashmir Shiites march to mourn martyr after 33-year ban lifted

AFP | Sri Nagar                                 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Thousands of Shiite Muslims marched through Indian-administered Kashmir's largest city Thursday for a major religious procession permitted in the restive territory for the first time since a ban was imposed decades ago.

The Islamic calendar is currently in the month of Muharram, the holiest time for Shiites across the world when large processions mark the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein in the seventh century.

But authorities in Kashmir had banned the traditional ceremony in 1990, the year after an armed revolt against Indian rule erupted in the disputed region that is also claimed by Pakistan.

Since imposing direct rule on the territory four years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been eager to claim improved security in the territory after decades of unrest.

Top police officers and administrators walked alongside mourners who marched through the streets of Srinagar beating their chests and waving flags, following several rounds of negotiations between officials and clerics to allow the march to proceed.

"This is a dividend of peace," the city's top administrator Mohammad Aijaz told reporters after the procession concluded without incident.

Some small Muharram processions have been permitted in Kashmir since the 1990 ban but often ended violently, with mourners shouting slogans demanding independence and government forces dispersing crowds with tear gas and pellet-gun fire.

Shiite Muslims are a minority in mostly Sunni Kashmir but authorities believe they account for at least 10 percent of the region's population of nearly 14 million.

This year's procession was by far the largest in a generation and the first time many of those who joined were allowed to participate.

Authorities allowed the procession on condition that mourners would not use "anti-national slogans or propaganda" or display any references to rebel groups and "banned organisations".