Kashmir on strike to protest India plan for Hindu townships

Kashmir on strike to protest India plan for Hindu townships
Updated on

Summary Clashes on Friday between anti-India protesters and government forces left 20 people injured.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Kashmiris have shuttered shops and businesses in the disputed Himalayan region to protest India s plan to build townships for Hindus who fled a rebellion in Muslim-majority areas.

The Kashmiri leaders who called Saturday`s strike say the plan to house nearly 200,000 Hindus in new townships is part of a conspiracy to separate the region`s population along religious lines.

Many of the Hindus, known as Pandits, had fled to Hindu-dominated areas in Jammu region or elsewhere in India in 1990.

Clashes on Friday between anti-India protesters and government forces left at least 20 people injured, including a photojournalist and eight policemen, in Indian-occupied Kashmir s main city of Srinagar. 

Browse Topics