I visited Kashmir in the summer of 1989 as a tourist. In Srinagar, a curfew was in place from 6pm to 6am. I was told that this curfew had been in place, without a break, for more than a year. People talked of being unable to even bury their dead. As I travelled around the city, the Government buildings that had been destroyed were pointed out to me. Shopkeepers told me how they viewed the region as a pawn of both Pakistan and India; some expressed a desire for Seperacy but most did not. Both Indian regular soldiers and Mujahideen were openly present on the street; military conflict between both was occurring regularly. One man told me how the Mujahideen had closed the cinemas and the liquor stores. I only saw one woman dressed in a sari and she seemed confined to a temple complex; previously the Hindi population had been quite large. I don't know what had happened that had brought about the militarization of the city but one got the sense of something cataclysmic. Was this state of siege in Kashmir the reaction by the State to the working class asserting it's class identity?
Yesterday, 'agitated youth'
Yesterday, 'agitated youth' in Anantnag and Srinagar, Kashmir, broke free from Separatist processions to engage the police.
Residents of Dal and Nageen
Residents of Dal and Nageen lakes, Srinagar, protested today against the demolition of their homes. One boy set himself alight. The police responded with tear gas.
Shops in the central bazaar,
Shops in the central bazaar, Srinagar, remained closed on Tuesday after the traders body makes a strike call.
Protests occurred again
Protests occurred again yesterday in Srinagar after Friday Prayers and in Hajin town, Northern Kashmir, police used teargas against residents demanding the bodies of the three 'militants' shot by police last week.
On 14 January, protesters
On 14 January, protesters threw bricks and stones towards and police fired tear gas shells during protests over the murder of Owais Bashir Malik, a student of a polytechnic college, who's mutilated body was found near his home in Peerbagh, new Airport road. (originally post #1)
I note the continued updates
I note the continued updates on this. Is there anything here which is different to the usual separatists/nationalist goings-on?
Thank you, Steven, for your
Thank you, Steven, for your interest in these posts.
As everywhere, there are multiple forces at work. As you highlight, there are the national interests of India and Pakistan at stake, along with the Separatist interests of the Kashmiri petty bourgeoisie. Now, another force is coming into play – the Islamist – which, as elsewhere in the world, is vying for support.
My interest, however, is in the action of the working class in Kashmir and it's struggle against state and capital. I will continue to post news as I receive it.
Sporadic clashes today
Sporadic clashes today between workers and the police in Pulwama have led to a complete shutdown of the town.
Police used batons and tear
Police used batons and tear smoke shells to disperse protesting teachers in Srinagar today. Some 500 teachers along with members of the Employees' Joint Action Committee gathered in the Residency Road area here shouting slogans against the director of school education whom they blamed for anti-teacher policies. Police intervened when the protesters started a march from the Press Enclave towards the office of the director school education, Kashmir. Half a dozen protesters were injured when police used batons and tear smoke shells to disperse them. Over a dozen protesters were arrested and taken to the nearby police station. Traffic and shops in the area were momentarily affected but resumed immediately after the march was dispersed.