In Focus: Kashmir, Valley of Tears

For nearly two months now Kashmir has been in the grip of violent protests, as angry young men, women and children have held demonstrations against Indian rule in the region. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which is divided between Hindu-majority India and Pakistan, but
claimed by both in its entirety.

Protesters reject Indian sovereignty over Kashmir and want to form a separate country or merge with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. The recent unrest in Indian Kashmir is reminiscent of the late 1980s, when protests against New Delhi?s rule sparked an armed conflict that has so far killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.

During the uprising, India has maintained hundreds of thousands of security forces in Kashmir to fight an insurgency sponsored by Pakistan, but while that insurgency has been largely vanquished, a popular revolt against Indian rule has grown. Separatists have called for more protests and strikes during Ramadan, and the government has responded by imposing curfews, effectively shutting down the disputed region. Residents staged protest marches across much of Kashmir and chanted ?Go India! Go back? and ?We want freedom.?

Four protesters were killed recently when security forces opened fire during anti-India protests in Indian Kashmir, a day after the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, police said. The killings took the death toll from two months of violent protests in the Muslim-majority region to 55. The deaths came as influential separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was freed from weeks of house arrest by authorities and led thousands of residents through the main city, Srinagar, in a protest against Indian rule.

Source: http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured...of-tears/2403/



Kashmiri youth throw stones at security forces in Srinagar, India, on Aug. 9, 2010. India has maintained hundreds of thousands of security forces in Kashmir to fight an insurgency sponsored by Pakistan, but while that insurgency has been largely vanquished, a popular revolt against Indian rule has grown. (The New York Times)



Unidentified women try to comfort the daughter of Ghulam Nabi Badyari, 50, during his funeral ceremony in Srinagar, India, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010. Badyari was seriously wounded when he was hit by a stray bullet inside his home in downtown Srinagar after soldiers fired at protesters who destroyed a sentry post and threw rocks at them, said a police officer. For nearly two months now Kashmir has been in the grip of violent protests, as angry young men, women and children, have held demonstrations against Indian rule in the region. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



Kashmiri Muslim mourners run for cover as police fire teargas shells to disperse the funeral procession of Ghulam Nabi Badyari, 50, in Srinagar, India, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010. Badyari was seriously wounded when he was hit by a stray bullet inside his home in downtown Srinagar after soldiers fired at protesters who destroyed a sentry post and threw rocks at them, said a police officer. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



A Kashmiri youth argues with an Indian policeman during a funeral procession in Srinagar on August 5, 2010. Two more protesters have died in clashes with security forces in Indian Kashmir, police said, dashing hopes of calm returning to the region roiled by weeks of anti-India protests. Violent demonstrations erupted despite an appeal for restraint from influential separatist politician Syed Ali Geelani. STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images



A Kashmiri Muslim wears a bullet shell as a pendant as he attends the funeral ceremony of Ghulam Nabi Badyari, in Srinagar, India, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010. Badyari was seriously wounded when he was hit by a stray bullet inside his home in downtown Srinagar after soldiers fired at protesters who destroyed a sentry post and threw rocks at them, said a police officer. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



A Kashmiri cries near the body of Ghulam Nabi Badyari, 50, during his funeral ceremony in Srinagar, India, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010. Badyari was seriously wounded when he was hit by a stray bullet inside his home in downtown Srinagar after soldiers fired at protesters who destroyed a sentry post and threw rocks at them, said a police officer. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



A Kashmiri Muslim mourner shouts slogans from an ambulance as the body of Shabir Ahamed Malik, who allegedly died when security force's fired shots, is taken away from a hospital in Srinagar, India, Thursday, Aug 5, 2010. Kashmir has been rocked by violent protests for nearly two months with demonstrators hurling rocks at paramilitary soldiers and setting government buildings and vehicles ablaze. In response, security forces have fired live rounds and tear gas into large crowds. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)



Kashmiri boys ride their bicycle past a graffiti during a curfew in Srinagar, India, Monday, Aug. 9, 2010. Authorities re-imposed a curfew in most parts of Indian Kashmir Monday as separatists called for fresh protests against Indian rule in the disputed region this week. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



An Indian policeman rests against closed shops during curfew in downtown area of Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims protested against Indian rule in the Himalayan region of Kashmir and offered special prayers for nearly 50 people who died in last two months of civil unrest. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



A Kashmiri Muslim protestor makes graffiti on a road as bystanders look on in Wathoora on the outskirts of Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims protested against Indian rule in the Himalayan region of Kashmir and offered special prayers for nearly 50 people who died in last two months of civil unrest. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



Kashmiri protestors shout slogans as an injured protestor is treated by a fellow protestor during a clash with Indian paramilitary soldiers in Pampore, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Srinagar, India, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010. Clashes broke out as hundreds of Kashmiri Muslims defied security restrictions in Indian Kashmir Wednesday to participate in a protest march called by Kashmir's main separatist alliance, All Parties Hurriyat Conference, to Pampore to commemorate the death anniversary of a top separatist leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who was killed by police in 2008. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)



Aabid Nabi holds a photograph of his brother Fida, who was shot during a protest against India's military presence, at his family home in Srinagar, India, on Aug. 9, 2010. (The New York Times)



Shifat Farooq, center, 12, grieves for her cousin, Fida Nabi, who was shot during a protest against India's military presence, at the Nabi family home in Srinagar, India, on Aug. 9, 2010. (The New York Times)



Relatives of Iqbal Ahmed Khan, a Kashmiri who died from injuries after police fired weapons during a protest, wail during his funeral procession in Srinagar, India. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)



The daughter of Mohammad Asim, a civilian killed in a protest, cries as she reaches out from inside an ambulance outside a local hospital in Srinagar, India. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)