Tight security in Kashmir ahead of Indian holiday

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN,Associated Press Writer AP - Monday, January 26

SRINAGAR, India - India's Republic Day celebrations passed peacefully in Indian Kashmir amid intense security Monday as separatists called for a general strike in the Himalayan region to protest Indian rule.

Thousands of police and security forces were on patrol, frisking people and searching vehicles for arms and explosives in Srinagar and Jammu, the two main cities in India's Jammu-Kashmir state.

India celebrates its Republic Day on Jan. 26 every year to commemorate the 1950 adoption of its constitution. The country gained independence from Britain in 1947.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where most people favor independence from mainly Hindu India, or a merger with Muslim Pakistan. The region is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.

Separatist groups have been fighting since 1989 to end Indian rule. The uprising and a subsequent Indian crackdown have killed more than 68,000 people, most of them civilians.

"We've made elaborate security arrangements to thwart any militant plans to disrupt the Republic Day functions," said B. Srinivas, a senior police officer. "But we're also making it sure that the arrangements should not cause any inconvenience to the movement of people."

There were no disruptions to the morning celebrations, but streets were largely deserted.

Each year separatist groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed region press for a boycott of the celebrations on Jan. 26, calling it a "black day."

Most people in Jammu-Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, do not participate in the Republic Day celebrations, either out of opposition to Indian control or fear of militant attacks. The celebrations are usually limited to government and military employees in heavily guarded stadiums.