Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR, Nov 25: At Zadibal in capital Srinagar, a sea of mourners bearing Islamic flags and copies of the Quran moved slowly, beating their chests in rhythmic movements.
Young men and even children flagellated themselves with chains and knives while women, draped in black abaayas, sat on rooftops and the roadside to watch the procession proceed towards the Imambargah, a Shia place of worship.
The Shia muslims were mourning for Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, who was martyred in Kerbala on Ashura or the 10th day of Islamic month Muharram in 680 AD.
These mourners are part of the minority Shia sect in Kashmir where the majority are the Sunni Muslims. But unlike elsewhere, there was no sectarian violence during the past ten days of Muharram mournings.
“Ashoora processions today passed off peacefully in Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla, Anantnag, Ganderbal and Kulgam,” a police statement said.
‘Fear of exploitation’
Kashmir has seen little sectarian clashes between Shias and Sunnis and rarely have Muharram processions come under attack.
But authorities continue to remain cautious and impose curfew-like restrictions in the capital on this day: Muharram processions are still banned from moving along their traditional routes in the civil lines area.
The Ashoora procession has been restrained to areas in downtown city with dense Shia population. This, since the start of an insurgency in the early nineties, as authorities say they fear the processions could be exploited to fan sectarian violence in this volatile region.
“You never know who will do what,” said a senior police official. “And then the blame may pass on to one community.”
‘Cautious’
At Zadibal there was no fear or insecurity among Shia mourners. For Abid Hussain, restrictions were not necessary as, he said, a sectarian clash has never crossed his mind.
Kashmiris are much more tolerant than anywhere else, he says, and Sunnis form a considerable chunk of his friend circle. “Things are changing. My friends consider me the same as themselves. That we belong to different sects hasn’t ever mattered.”
But for his elders, caution is the word. The Ashoora procession this year took a detour from the traditional alley in Zadibal. The mourners had decided to avoid a house which is in bad shape and can collapse anytime.
“It belongs to a Sunni,” said a Shia elder, Ghulam Hassan. “If anything happened to that house during the procession, things could turn bad. Not that we are scared, but we considered it wise to avoid the route and prevent a misunderstanding.”
Only half-a-kilometre away from the site where the mourning procession moved, a group of youth threw pieces of brick and rock at police who then lobbed teargas canisters.
This is an exception in the entire valley, says Nazir Ahmed, a shia mourner. “They are miscreants who do this every year. We cannot blame everybody of the Sunnis just for what a group of spoiled individuals do,” he adds.
