The decision by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court earlier this month ordering the enforcement of a 153-year-old ban on beef sparked violence on Eid-ul-Adha on Friday, as some people defied the prohibition by slaughtering cattle to celebrate the Muslim festival.
In Srinagar and Anantnag, youth protesting the ban threw stones at the police, who responded by firing tear gas and pepper gas.
Eid-ul-Adha, which commemorates the willingness of the prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son, is traditionally marked by the ritual killing of goats, sheep and cattle. In the subcontinent, though, it is goats that are usually sacrificed, leading to the festival to being called Bakri-Id.
Cattle slaughter
However, this year in Kashmir, even more cattle were sacrificed on Eid than in the past, claimed social activist Tauseef Raina from Srinagar. In Anantnag town, even residents who would usually have slaughtered goats decided to sacrifice cattle instead, said social activist Rayees Rasool. “To protest the ban, people sacrificed the bovine animals outdoors also rather than indoors as would be done normally,” he said.
The town witnessed violence as the police stopped a march after the 8 am Eid prayers that aimed to protest the ban. The police battled stone-throwing youth until noon, firing teargas shells and pepper gas spray at them.
At around midnight on Thursday, cleric Mirwaiz Qazi Yasir was taken into custody to prevent him from going ahead with his previously announced plan to sacrifice cattle at the Eidgah grounds in Anantnag. The police also seized trucks carrying 47 heads of cattle near the town.
“Mirwaiz was not even allowed to offer Eid or Friday prayers,” said Safdar Rasool, a close aide of Mirwaiz family. “A procession lead by the youth wing of Ummat e Islami was taken out from Eidgah after prayers but police foiled it. We were expecting Mirwaiz will be released in the evening but he is still in custody.”
Other activists and separatist leaders, including Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Geelani, were also detained. Ironically, Geelani had issued a statement asking people not to hurt the sentiments of other communities on Eid. This was widely seen as an attempt to promote harmony over in view of the beef ban. However, Geelani was placed under house arrest and was not allowed to offer either Eid or Friday prayers.
Net ban
Ostensibly to prevent potentially inflammatory images of cattle slaughter being spread, the state government on Friday shut down internet services in Jammu and Kashmir for two days. According to the order by the inspector general of police (Kashmir), the blackout was in “apprehension of misuse of data services by anti-national elements, which is likely to cause deterioration in law and order.” The services went down at Friday midnight.
As in the rest of the world, people in Kashmir use internet services widely on festivals like Eid to exchange greetings. This clampdown only added to the anger against the government.
In various parts of the valley, police deployment was increased to keep check on the sacrifice of the bovine animals in public glare.
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In Srinagar and Anantnag, youth protesting the ban threw stones at the police, who responded by firing tear gas and pepper gas.
Eid-ul-Adha, which commemorates the willingness of the prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son, is traditionally marked by the ritual killing of goats, sheep and cattle. In the subcontinent, though, it is goats that are usually sacrificed, leading to the festival to being called Bakri-Id.
Cattle slaughter
However, this year in Kashmir, even more cattle were sacrificed on Eid than in the past, claimed social activist Tauseef Raina from Srinagar. In Anantnag town, even residents who would usually have slaughtered goats decided to sacrifice cattle instead, said social activist Rayees Rasool. “To protest the ban, people sacrificed the bovine animals outdoors also rather than indoors as would be done normally,” he said.
The town witnessed violence as the police stopped a march after the 8 am Eid prayers that aimed to protest the ban. The police battled stone-throwing youth until noon, firing teargas shells and pepper gas spray at them.
At around midnight on Thursday, cleric Mirwaiz Qazi Yasir was taken into custody to prevent him from going ahead with his previously announced plan to sacrifice cattle at the Eidgah grounds in Anantnag. The police also seized trucks carrying 47 heads of cattle near the town.
“Mirwaiz was not even allowed to offer Eid or Friday prayers,” said Safdar Rasool, a close aide of Mirwaiz family. “A procession lead by the youth wing of Ummat e Islami was taken out from Eidgah after prayers but police foiled it. We were expecting Mirwaiz will be released in the evening but he is still in custody.”
Other activists and separatist leaders, including Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Geelani, were also detained. Ironically, Geelani had issued a statement asking people not to hurt the sentiments of other communities on Eid. This was widely seen as an attempt to promote harmony over in view of the beef ban. However, Geelani was placed under house arrest and was not allowed to offer either Eid or Friday prayers.
Net ban
Ostensibly to prevent potentially inflammatory images of cattle slaughter being spread, the state government on Friday shut down internet services in Jammu and Kashmir for two days. According to the order by the inspector general of police (Kashmir), the blackout was in “apprehension of misuse of data services by anti-national elements, which is likely to cause deterioration in law and order.” The services went down at Friday midnight.
As in the rest of the world, people in Kashmir use internet services widely on festivals like Eid to exchange greetings. This clampdown only added to the anger against the government.
In various parts of the valley, police deployment was increased to keep check on the sacrifice of the bovine animals in public glare.
