Normal life in India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir was brought to a halt on Monday as separatist shutdown, against the killing of an insurgent in July, resumed after a relaxation of two days, reports Reuters.
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Killing of a field commander of separatist militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, Burhan Wani, by security forces on July 08, plunged the Valley into its worst unrest in six years.
Nearly 100 civilians have been killed and over 6,000 wounded in months of clashes between protesters and security forces.
Separatists, spearheading the agitation against the killing of Wani, agreed to relax the shutdown - in its fifth month now - over the weekend amid mounting pressure from transporters and traders to enable them to earn their livelihood.
Buzz in the markets was missing as shops downed shutters once again and people stayed indoors in Srinagar, the summer capital of northern Jammu and Kashmir state.
The prolonged shutdown has also derailed academic sessions in schools and other educational institutions.
Considering the huge backlog of syllabus to be covered, the state government ordered mass promotion of all students from Class 5 to 9 and Class 11 to the next levels.
Earlier, Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had claimed credit for the peaceful situation in the valley and had said that demonetisation meant militants had no money to pay the disgruntled youth to attack the armed forces. There have been no incidents of stone pelting since November 9 when the move to scrap 500 and 1000 rupee notes were introduced.
Wani was the leader of Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM), a group fighting the Indian government. His social media videos showed him wearing military fatigues and calling for jihad.
Son of a headmaster, Wani was idolized by some youth and was a prominent member of HM in a region that has been at the centre of a strategic tussle between India and Pakistan for decades.
