New Delhi, India – Thirty-five Hindus were killed in recent days in two incidents in the Indian-administered portion of the disputed Kashmir province, police said.
The killings were thought to be the work of Islamist militants just days before a scheduled meeting between the Indian prime minister and Kashmiri separatists.
In one incident, gunmen stormed a village in a district called Doda, dragged Hindu villagers from their homes and shot 22 of them dead. In another, in neighboring Udhampur district, suspected militants kidnapped 13 villagers from a remote mountainous spot.
Four of their bodies were found lying in the woods late Sunday, and the rest were discovered Monday, police said.
Even by the standards of Kashmir, it was a particularly grisly pair of incidents – and the deadliest violence since peace talks began more than two years ago between India and Pakistan, neighbors and rivals on the question of Kashmir.
The attacks are worrisome because they appear designed to fuel Hindu-Muslim tensions. Their impact is likely to be felt during the talks about Kashmir’s future, slated to begin Wednesday between the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and a coalition of Kashmiri separatist leaders, known as the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Both Singh and the leaders of Hurriyat were swift to condemn the fresh violence. But that does not mean that the negotiations will yield quick results. The last time the prime minister announced a roundtable on Kashmir, in March, Hurriyat leaders did not show up.
Along with the Pakistan government, they have stepped up their criticism of the Indian government, contending that it is dragging its feet on a resolution to the Kashmir dispute.