One is reported killed and over 80 people, including at least 30 police, injured in clashes when protests over the transfer of forest land to the Amarnath shrine trust exploded into street-fighting in Srinagar and Ganderbal district, Kashmir, June 23. Indian police, including elite Central Reserve Police Force officers, fired tear-gas and live ammunition to break up protests by Muslims angry with a government decision to transfer 100 acres to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board to erect temporary structures for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who annually trek to the holy site deep in the Himalayas. Muslim protesters attacked government buildings and a police post, and set vehicles ablaze. A strike to protest the death of a protester in the repression has shut down Srinagar.

Sri Lanka's air force launched helicopter attacks on rebel-held territory in the island's north June 21, as ground troops killed at least four guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mannar district. "Sri Lanka air force MI-24 helicopter gunships raided a gathering place of the LTTE," the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The LTTE made no statement, and there was no word on civilian casualties. (AFP, June 21)

A little-known organization called the Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for serial terror blasts in Jaipur (Rajasthan state), which killed 63 and wounded more than 150 on May 13. Indian Mujahideen is the same group that had sent an e-mail to some TV channels minutes before the serial blasts in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi in last November. (NDTV, May 15) Leaders of the opposition BJP, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, took the opportunity to lash out at the government's "soft on terror policy." (Times of India, May 15)

Nepal's Maoist leader, known as Prachanda—whose party won the most seats in last month's Constituent Assembly elections on an anti-monarchist platform—says he has received indications from the royal palace that King Gyanendra is willing to meet him to discuss the the country's future. He says he is willing to arrange a "graceful exit" for the king, but insists abolition of the monarchy is the only option. (BBC, May 7)

Doesn't this say it all: capitalism provides the raw material of social rage, but reactionary fundamentalism—not any analysis that correctly identifies the enemy—provides a political outlet, allowing the legitimately angry to vent at a very wrong target. April 12 saw riots over soaring food prices in Bangladesh, as more than 20,000 textile workers clashed with police, demanding better wages to meet rising costs. Dozens of people were injured in the violence near the capital Dhaka. (AlJazeera, April 12) The previous day, hundreds were injured in Dhaka, in violent clashes over a new law that would instate equality between men and women. Followers of the Islami Constitution Movement fought running battles with police after taking to the streets to oppose the legislation after Friday prayers. (EuroNews, April 11)

Sri Lankan cabinet minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was among 12 people killed outside Colombo April 6 in a blast blamed on a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber. At least 90 people were wounded in the explosion minutes before the start of a traditional marathon race held as part of a Hindu new year celebration at Waliweriy. Indo-Asian News Service called the event "Hindu-Sinhala," as it was attended by minority Hindu members of the mostly Buddhist ethnic Sinhalese majority on the island. Marathon gold medallist K.A. Karunaratne was also among the dead. (IANS, April 6)

Police in Kathmandu clashed with hundreds of Tibetan refugees during a protest March 15 over the repression in Lhasa. The protesters tried to march on the Chinese embassy, but the police barred their way. The previous day, dozens were injured when police broke up a march on the embassy by some 1,000 Tibetan protesters, including dozens of monks. Twelve monks were reported injured. (IANS, March 15; AP, March 14)

New Delhi has rushed a high-level team of senior Home Ministry officials to eastern Orissa state after some 600 Naxalite guerillas carried out simultaneous raids on several police stations in Nayagarh district late Feb. 15, killing 15 and looting large quantities of arms and ammunition. The dead included a village paramilitary guard, a civilian and 13 police. Ten more were injured. Orissa police are now combing the Kupari forests, where the guerillas fled. Andhra Pradesh police and paramilitary forces have also joined the hunt. The security forces are backed up by helicopter gunships, with Delhi saying air strikes are being considered if Naxalite strongholds can be located. (The Hindu, The Statesman, Feb. 16)