Kashmir shuts over ‘attacks on its students’ across India

A partial-to-complete shutdown, observed in protest against alleged attacks on Kashmiri students studying in various colleges and universities across the country, disrupted normal life in the Valley on Tuesday.

Shops and other businesses in the summer capital Srinagar and most other parts of the Valley were shut, whereas only skeleton transport services plied on the roads. Educational institutions also remained closed in Srinagar and elsewhere. The attendance recorded in government offices, banks and other financial institutions on Tuesday morning was thin and the authorities attributed it to the non-availability of public transport.

Reinforcements from the J&K police and CRPF guarded the otherwise deserted streets and marketplaces in Srinagar. In the afternoon, clashes erupted between stone-hurling groups of youth and the police and CRPF in parts of central Srinagar, leaving several people injured.

However, in some pockets, the strike call issued by various separatist organisations and endorsed by trade and social groups and Kashmir bar council evoked only feeble response. Private cars and auto-rickshaws were plying in several Srinagar areas.

The strike call was issued following reports about a series of alleged attacks on Kashmiri students in various universities and colleges outside the Valley started pouring in against a backdrop of disturbances on the campus of Srinagar’s NIT earlier this month.