Separatist shutdown in Kashmir against 'Indian occupation'

The Kashmir Valley Thursday shut down in response to a call by separatists to protest the landing of Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir on this day in 1947 to fight Pakistan-backed tribal invaders.

Shops and business establishments were closed and traffic went off the roads in summer capital Srinagar and several other parts of the valley in response to the call. The shutdown call was given by both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and other separatist leaders.

This date has been a permanent fixture on the separatist protest calendar since 1990 when armed militancy broke out in the valley. Indian troops landed in Kashmir a day after Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra king, signed the instrument of accession and sought military help from India to push back Pakistan sponsored tribal invasion of the state.

The separatists say it marked the start of "Indian occupation of Kashmir". That tribal invasion led to the division of Jammu and Kashmir, with Pakistan occupying its northern third. India controls the remaining two-thirds of the state.