Police baton charge women as Indian Kashmir votes
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
WITH ARMED troops patrolling shuttered streets and separatist leaders locked up, Indian Kashmiris voted in a state election yesterday, casting their ballots for better roads and civic amenities.
The turnout in three Kashmir constituencies was a little more than 52 per cent, slightly less than in 2002 polls, with many Muslim Kashmiris voting for better local government even if they did not accept Indian rule in their troubled state.
"We are voting for a better candidate who can take care of the roads and better amenities but don't confuse this with the question of Azadi (freedom)," said 45-year-old carpet weaver Ghulam Ahmad in Bandipora in northern Kashmir.
"Everyone here you see wants Azadi," he said, echoing the comments of many voters in the Kashmir Valley.
Bandipora lies 60km north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Muslim-majority Kashmir and heart of the separatist rebellion. Srinagar will vote later in the seven-stage election.
At least six people were injured when police fired teargas and used battons to disperse scores of demonstrators protesting against the elections in Bandipora town, police said.
Separatist leaders, who either want Kashmir to become independent or part of Pakistan, have appealed for an election boycott after some of the biggest anti-India protests were staged in Kashmir this year since an insurgency began in 1989.
The response seemed to be mixed on a chilly morning when temperatures remained below zero at many places in the region.
Political parties brought in voters in jeeps to one polling station in Ajas village, while another group of men watched warily from a distance.
Some of them then began shouting "Azadi, Azadi ".
Control of Kashmir is principally split between India and Pakistan, with a sparsely inhabited stretch of Himalayan plateau also held by China.
The Indian-ruled portion, the state of Jammu and Kashmir, is made up of the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, the Hindu-majority Jammu region and mainly Buddhist Ladakh.
Elections were also held yesterday in seven constituencies in the Jammu and Ladakh regions. The average turnout in those seats was about 55 per cent, the election commission said.
But the Kashmir valley remains the focus after police killed at least 42 people during pro-independence protests this year.
New Delhi is hoping for a decent turnout to bolster the legitimacy of democracy and its rule in Kashmir. All the parties that competed yesterday broadly support Indian rule.
"This reaffirms the Kashmiri people's faith in the Indian democracy," said Kulbushan Jandial, the state's chief spokesman. Separatists said elections would not resolve the issue of independence.
"If the voting percentage is about 25-30, it is a boycott," said a leader Sajjad Lone.Reuters
The turnout in three Kashmir constituencies was a little more than 52 per cent, slightly less than in 2002 polls, with many Muslim Kashmiris voting for better local government even if they did not accept Indian rule in their troubled state.
"We are voting for a better candidate who can take care of the roads and better amenities but don't confuse this with the question of Azadi (freedom)," said 45-year-old carpet weaver Ghulam Ahmad in Bandipora in northern Kashmir.
"Everyone here you see wants Azadi," he said, echoing the comments of many voters in the Kashmir Valley.
Bandipora lies 60km north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Muslim-majority Kashmir and heart of the separatist rebellion. Srinagar will vote later in the seven-stage election.
At least six people were injured when police fired teargas and used battons to disperse scores of demonstrators protesting against the elections in Bandipora town, police said.
Separatist leaders, who either want Kashmir to become independent or part of Pakistan, have appealed for an election boycott after some of the biggest anti-India protests were staged in Kashmir this year since an insurgency began in 1989.
The response seemed to be mixed on a chilly morning when temperatures remained below zero at many places in the region.
Political parties brought in voters in jeeps to one polling station in Ajas village, while another group of men watched warily from a distance.
Some of them then began shouting "Azadi, Azadi ".
Control of Kashmir is principally split between India and Pakistan, with a sparsely inhabited stretch of Himalayan plateau also held by China.
The Indian-ruled portion, the state of Jammu and Kashmir, is made up of the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, the Hindu-majority Jammu region and mainly Buddhist Ladakh.
Elections were also held yesterday in seven constituencies in the Jammu and Ladakh regions. The average turnout in those seats was about 55 per cent, the election commission said.
But the Kashmir valley remains the focus after police killed at least 42 people during pro-independence protests this year.
New Delhi is hoping for a decent turnout to bolster the legitimacy of democracy and its rule in Kashmir. All the parties that competed yesterday broadly support Indian rule.
"This reaffirms the Kashmiri people's faith in the Indian democracy," said Kulbushan Jandial, the state's chief spokesman. Separatists said elections would not resolve the issue of independence.
"If the voting percentage is about 25-30, it is a boycott," said a leader Sajjad Lone.Reuters
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