An indefinite curfew has been imposed in Indian-administered Kashmir ahead of a proposed march by separatists.
Groups demanding an end to Indian rule had urged their supporters to rally on Monday in Lal Chowk, the square in the heart of Srinagar.
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They detained a prominent separatist leader, Yasin Malik, and ordered the indefinite curfew.
Police vans mounted with loudspeakers drove through the streets before dawn, telling people to stay inside, and thousands of soldiers were deployed in Srinagar and other large towns.
"The Lal Chowk rally should be symbolic and every individual should try to join to convey to the world Kashmiris' resolve for the right to self-determination," said a leading separatist figure, Syed Ali Shah.
The authorities, however, made clear that the demonstration would not be tolerated.
"Please co-operate," Kashmir's senior official, Anil Goswami, said on television. "If you violate the curfew, security forces will respond."
Shrine row
After years of relative calm in the Kashmir Valley, where Muslims are a majority, recent months have seen some of the most intense anti-India feeling for about 20 years.
The tensions over the summer were sparked by a plan to grant land to a board that oversees the running of an important Hindu shrine.
The proposal led to serious friction between the Muslims of the valley and their neighbours in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region.
The dispute fuelled anti-India sentiment in the valley, and there was a series of large marches.
More than 30 people have been killed by the police since the protests began in August. The authorities have been criticised by Amnesty International and other human rights organisations for allowing the use of lethal force against unarmed protestors.
The demonstrations subsided during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but now that it has ended the separatist groups clearly hoped to re-ignite them with Monday's proposed rally.
(BBC)
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