Land deal ends Hindu protest

Hindus end a two-month protest as the government allows pilgrims to use land near an important Hindu temple.

Hindu protesters dance in front of paramilitary soldiers during a victory rally at Moulana Azad stadium in Jammu, India, on Aug 31 2008.

SRINAGAR, INDIA // Hindus in Kashmir ended a two-month-old protest today after the government agreed to temporarily allow pilgrims use of land near an important Hindu temple. The land dispute triggered the worst violence in the region in a decade. India's Jammu-Kashmir state government has agreed to allow nearly 99 acres of land to be used by Hindu pilgrims for accommodation each year, when hundreds of thousands flock to the Amarnath shrine in the predominantly Muslim state. Under an agreement signed today, the title of the land will remain with the government, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The crisis began in June when Muslims launched protests over the government's plan to transfer ownership of the land to the Hindu temple. The proposal was quickly scrapped, however, when Kashmiri Muslims began demonstrating against the move. Unrest has rocked the Himalayan region since, leaving more than 40 people dead, many killed by soldiers who opened fire on Muslim protesters who later began demanding an end to Indian rule over the region.

"We have suspended our agitation," said Leela Karan Sharma, a leader of the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, a group that spearheaded Hindu protests. No immediate comment was available from Kashmiri Muslim leaders, most of whom have been arrested by Indian authorities since the demonstrations began. The land near the temple will be set aside for exclusive use by Hindu pilgrims. Authorities at the shrine will be allowed to build facilities to house Hindus during the annual pilgrimage that lasts up to three months, Mr Karan said.

Hindus danced jubilantly in the streets of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, after the decision was announced. Authorities, meanwhile, imposed a curfew in the state's Hindu-majority areas of Jammu, Udhampur and Kathua, apparently to prevent any Hindu-Muslim clashes in response to the government's move. Kashmir has been divided between Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan since 1947, when the two fought their first war over the region in the aftermath of Britain's bloody partition of the subcontinent.

Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety. Islamic insurgents took up arms in 1989 hoping to win independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan. The fighting has killed an estimated 68,000 people. * AP