Separatists call off Kashmir protests for three days

By Sheikh Mushtaq

SRINAGAR (Reuters) - Shops, businesses and schools opened in Indian Kashmir for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday, as Muslim separatists called for three days of calm after the biggest protests in two decades against New Delhi's rule.

Hundreds of people queued outside banks in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, and crowds thronged around markets to buy essential supplies.

"There was little food left in our house, it is good they have called off protests for sometime," Mohammad Yaqoob said near a grocery shop.

A dispute over land for Hindu pilgrims visiting a shrine in Kashmir snowballed into full-scale rallies this month, boosting separatists who want India's only Muslim-majority region to secede.

The recent crisis began after the state government promised to give forest land to a trust that runs Amarnath, a cave shrine visited by Hindu pilgrims. Many Muslims were enraged. The government then rescinded its decision, which in turn angered Hindus in Jammu.

In Jammu on Tuesday, thousands of Hindus were arrested and driven away to jails after they protested against the government's decision.

Waving Indian flags, thousands of women surrounded police stations in Jammu town and nearby areas, shouting pro-India slogans and offering to be arrested as a mark of protest.

They crammed police station buildings as officers looked on. Many were detained and were to be let off later, police said.  Continued...