Muharram procession allowed in Srinagar after decades

SRINAGAR: Thousands of Shia Muslims participated in the traditional Muharram procession on Thursday from Guru Bazaar to Dalgate after the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir administration lifted the ban in more than decades.

“Thursday’s procession was held for the first time in 34 years after authorities in India’s only Muslim-majority region banned it in 1989 when a popular rebellion against New Delhi’s rule began in the Kashmir Valley,” reported Al Jazeera.

While a significant number of people in Indian-administered Kashmir expressed approval for the revival of the procession, certain Shia leaders criticised it as another attempt by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to portray a sense of normalcy in the region, despite the restrictions imposed on freedom of expression and other rights.

“The administration put out certain conditions over the procession. And one of the conditions was not to speak about the situation or against the establishment. For me, this doesn’t serve the purpose of a procession of this nature,” said Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, a Shia community leader and politician while talking to Al Jazeera.

Shia Muslims make up approximately 10 per cent of the region’s total population of 14 million.