Indian media reported on Tuesday that Indian police had attacked Hosseini mourners with tear gas and batons and arrested several of them in Srinagar.
According to the Kashmir Observer, eyewitnesses reported that police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of Hosseini mourners in the town of Sringar in Jammu and Kashmir.
In some cases, police used shotguns against mourners.
Holding Hosseini mourning ceremonies in Kashmir has always been a sensitive political issue, and it has been banned in Jammu and Kashmir for more than 30 years.
But according to media reports, this month (August), local authorities in Jammu and Kashmir decided to lift the ban and allow Muharram ceremonies in the region.
The decision was criticized by Kashmir’s Shiite and Sunni leaders because all religious ceremonies in Kashmir have been canceled due to the crisis in Corona.
Critics have claimed that Indian officials are seeking to divide Shiites and Sunnis in Kashmir.
Local officials announced yesterday that Muharram ceremonies are banned in Kashmir.
According to informed sources, government officials’ concern that the rallies would turn into anti-Indian rallies and chant freedom slogans has led to a ban on Muharram ceremonies in Kashmir.
Last year, Jammu and Kashmir police also opposed Hosseini’s mourning processions in Kashmir and arrested a number of mourners after attacking them.
The Muslim Unity Party had asked the Supreme Court in 2008 to lift the ban on Muharram mourning ceremonies in Kashmir.
