Indian Kashmir Shuts Over Election Plan, Violence

An election is no solution to the Kashmir dispute.

Indian Kashmir shut down for a day on Monday when separatists called a strike to protest against plans to hold elections in the disputed region and the killing of Muslims by police during pro-independence rallies.

India's Election Commission held a meeting with political parties to decide on poll dates for Kashmir, where separatists fighting for the Himalayan region's secession from India have traditionally boycotted polls.

"An election is no solution to the Kashmir dispute," senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said. "There shall be a general shutdown on Monday against the election meeting."

Streets in the Himalayan region were largely deserted, except for security forces on patrol. Shops, businesses and schools were closed. Police clashed with stone-throwing protesters in several places in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, witnesses said.

Muslim-majority Kashmir and Hindu-majority Jammu, along with the Ladakh region, form the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which came under New Delhi's direct rule in July after the state government fell over a land dispute.

The controversy became the trigger for some of Kashmir's biggest anti-India protests since a revolt against New Delhi's rule began in 1989, killing tens of thousands of people.

At least 36 protesters have been killed by government forces in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley since last month. About 1,000 people were injured.

"The one-day strike is also to protest against the killing of peaceful protesters by Indian troops," Geelani said.

The protests were sparked by a government decision to grant land to build shelters for Hindu pilgrims travelling to Kashmir for an annual pilgrimage.

Muslims were enraged, forcing the government to backtrack. Hindus, in turn, protested, blocking the highway to the Kashmir Valley. They relented after the state government offered to allow temporary shelters to be built during the annual pilgrimage.

Muslim separatists have rejected the deal.