Indian Kashmir protests called off for three days

Srinagar: After weeks of massive protests in Indian Kashmir, Muslim leaders on Tuesday called for three days of calm.

Schools and businesses reopened and huge crowds thronged to markets to buy food and cooking gas after two months of protests in Srinagar.

Separatist leader Masarat Aalam said another strike and a large protest were planned for Friday.

The crisis began in June with a dispute over land near a Hindu shrine, which Muslims considered a settlement plan meant to change religious balance in the region.

A subsequent decision by the state government to scrap the plan angered the region's Hindus, sparking demonstrations.

In Jammu, the region's main Hindu-majority city, thousands of women defied a ban on public gatherings and assembled in large groups.

The women marched to police stations Tuesday, but police took no action.