At least a dozen people were injured when police used batons Monday to break up religious processions by Shiite Muslims who defied a ban and strict security lockdown in Indian Kashmir.
Over three dozen others were also arrested for violating the ban on holding the processions marking the Shiite ceremony of Ashura in the Kashmiri summer capital of Srinagar, a police officer said, asking not to be named.
"We had to use force after they defied prohibitory orders," the officer said.
An insurgency against Indian rule has left more than 47,000 people dead by official count since 1989. Human rights groups put the toll at 70,000 dead and missing.
Shiite Muslims around the world commemorate Ashura in mass processions in which they whip themselves to mourn the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
Authorities have forbidden most processions in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley since the outbreak of the revolt on grounds that religious rituals could be used by separatists to stoke anti-India sentiment.
They allow only small mourning rallies and processions in areas with sizeable Shiite populations, leading to annual friction between police and mourners.
Copyright 2009 AFP South Asian Edition
