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{{Short description|Genocidal massacres and targeted killings in Rajouri}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Disputed|date=September 2021}}
{{POV|date=September 2021}}
}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| date = 7 November 1947–12 April 1948
| place = [[Rajouri district|Rajouri]]
| goals = [[Genocide|Retributive genocide]]<ref>{{harvp|Bhatia, Rethinking Conflict at the Margins|2020|p=82}}: Quoting Amar Nath Saraf: "I remember hearing on Pakistan radio that these killings [in Jammu] would be avenged — in Mirpur, Rajouri, Kotli, Mendhar....
</ref>
| methods = [[Riot]]ing, [[pogrom]], [[arson]], [[slavery|enslavement]], [[forced conversion]]s, [[looting]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.satp.org/satporgtp/publication/faultlines/volume1/fault1-bloeriatext.htm|title=Militancy in Rajouri and Poonch|last=Bloeria|first=Sudhir|date=15 October 2020|website=satp.org|publisher=South Asian Terrorism Portal|access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>
| fatalities = 30,000+ [[Hindus]]/[[Sikhs]]
| map_type = India Jammu and Kashmir
| map_label = Rajouri
| coordinates = {{coord|33.38|N|74.31|E|display=inline,title|format=dms}}
| partof = the [[First Kashmir War]]
}}

The '''1947–1948 Rajouri Massacres''' were the killing of thousands of residents and refugees in the [[Rajouri district|Rajouri tehsil]] in the princely state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], by the [[Azad Kashmir Forces]] and [[Federally Administered Tribal Area|Pashtun]] tribal militia during the [[First Kashmir War]].<ref>
{{harvp|Bhatia, Rethinking Conflict at the Margins|2020|pp=80–81}}: "During this time, the town of Rajouri was captured by what was known as 'Azad Kashmir forces' ({{sic|comprised |hide=y|of}} armed rebels from Poonch and a section of Pakistani officials sympathetic to these rebels) as well as the Pathan tribesmen."
</ref><ref name=tearful>
[https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/tearful-homage-martyrs-1947-massacre-rajouri/ Tearful homage to martyrs of 1947 massacre in Rajouri], Daily Excelsior, 12 November 2017.
</ref> The "siege" of the town of Rajouri began on 7 November 1947 and ended on the 12 April 1948 when the [[Indian Army]] recaptured it. The massacre is commemorated annually in Rajouri and the [[Union Territory]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]].<ref name=tearful/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/the-day-rajouri-was-recaptured/ |title=The day Rajouri was recaptured |last=Maini |first=K.D. |date=12 April 2015 |website=dailyexcelsior.com|publisher=Daily Excelsior |access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref>

== Background ==
[[File:Sir Hari Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, 1944.jpg|thumb|[[Maharaja Hari Singh]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]]]

At the time of the [[Partition of India]] in 1947, [[princely states]] were left with the options of joining India or Pakistan or remaining independent. [[Hari Singh]], the [[Maharaja]] of Jammu and Kashmir, preferred to remain independent. All major political groups of the state supported the Maharaja's decision, except for the [[All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference|Muslim Conference]], which declared in favour of accession to Pakistan on 19 July 1947.<ref>{{citation |first=Balraj |last=Puri |author-link=Balraj Puri |title=The Question of Accession |journal=Epilogue |volume=4 |number=11 |pages=4–6 |date=November 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMxJzb7N_8wC&pg=PA4 |quote="Eventually they agreed on a modified resolution which 'respectfully and fervently appealed to the Maharaja Bahadur to declare internal autonomy of the State... and accede to the Dominion of Pakistan... However, the General Council did not challenge the maharaja's right to take a decision on accession, and it acknowledged that his rights should be protected even after acceding to Pakistan."}}</ref> The Muslim Conference was popular in the Jammu province of the state. It was closely allied with the [[All-India Muslim League]], which was set to inherit Pakistan.

On 6 October, the [[1947 Poonch Rebellion|Poonch Rebellion]] officially began.<ref>{{citation |last=ul-Hassan |first=Syed Minhaj |title=Qaiyum Khan and the War of Kashmir, 1947-48 AD. |journal=FWU Journal of Social Sciences |volume=9 |number=1 |year=2015 |page=1–7 |url=http://www.sbbwu.edu.pk/journal/Journal%20June%202015/1.%20Qaiyum%20Khan%20and%20the%20War%20of%20Kashmir,%20proof%20reading%20and%20APA.pdf |ref={{sfnref|ul Hassan, Qaiyum Khan and the War of Kashmir|2015}} |access-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309063114/http://www.sbbwu.edu.pk/journal/Journal%20June%202015/1.%20Qaiyum%20Khan%20and%20the%20War%20of%20Kashmir,%20proof%20reading%20and%20APA.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation |first=Sumit |last=Ganguly |title=Wars without End: The Indo-Pakistani Conflict |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=541 |pages=167–178 |date=September 1995 |publisher=Sage Publications |jstor=1048283 |doi=10.1177/0002716295541001012 |s2cid=144787951 |ref={{sfnref|Ganguly, Wars without End|1995}}}}</ref> The Jammu and Kashmir State Forces, which were distributed in penny pockets along the border, were ordered to consolidate in towns in garrisons.{{sfnp|Brahma Singh, History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles|2010|p=220}} [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948|War officially broke out]] in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 October, with a tribal invasion from Pakistan via [[Muzaffarabad]] and [[Baramulla]]. Looting and killing were widespread.<ref>Tom Cooper, [http://www.acig.info/CMS/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=159 I Indo-Pakistani War, 1947–1949] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002104334/http://www.acig.info/CMS/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=159 |date=2 October 2016 }}, Air Combat Information Group, 29 October 2003</ref><ref>Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–1948. (1987). Thomson Press (India) Limited, New Delhi. This is the Indian Official History.</ref>

[[Rajouri]] and [[Poonch (town)|Poonch]] witnessed a mass influx of Hindu and Sikh refugees from the west trying to escape the raiders. Rajouri's population swelled from 5,000 to over 40,000. Poonch experienced an increase from 10,000 to almost 50,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.satp.org/satporgtp/publication/faultlines/volume1/fault1-bloeriatext.htm |title=Militancy in Rajouri and Poonch |last=Bloeria |first=Sudhir |date=15 October 2020 |website=satp.org |publisher=South Asian Terrorism Portal |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>

== Events ==
[[File:Jammu and Kashmir in 1946 map of India by National Geographic.jpg|thumb|right|270px|Rajouri was the western part of the Riasi district in 1947 (map by [[National Geographic]])]]
On 26-27 October, the Maharaja [[Instrument of Accession (Jammu & Kashmir)|acceded to India]], requesting armed assistance. India airlifted troops to defend the Kashmir Valley. However, it was not until 13 November, when the raiders were cleared off [[Uri, Jammu and Kashmir|Uri]], that the Indian troops could pay attention to the situation in the [[Jammu Division]].{{sfnp|Cheema, Crimson Chinar|2015|p=77}} Until then the State Forces had to fend for themselves. The forces lacked artillery (which had been transferred to the British Indian Army for World War II) and they were also short of ammunition (which had not been replenished since the departure of British on 15 August).{{sfnp|Brahma Singh, History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles|2010|p=220}}

Rajauri was recaptured on 12 April 1948 by the 19 Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army under the command of Second Lieutenant [[Rama Raghoba Rane]]. Rane, despite being wounded, launched a bold tank assault by conveying the tanks over the [[Tawi River|Tawi]] river bed in order to avoid the road blocks along the main road.{{refn|Rama Raghoba Rane received a [[Param Vir Chakra]] for his gallantry.}} When the Indian Army entered the town, the captors had fled, having destroyed most of the town and killing the majority of its inhabitants.<ref>
{{citation |last=Cohen |first=Lt.-Col. Maurice |title=Thunder Over Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3OQLlocsgbwC&pg=PA36 |year=1994 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |ISBN=978-81-250-0016-7 |page=36}}
</ref><ref>
{{citation |editor1-last=Gopal |editor1-first=S. |title=Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, Volume 6 |publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund/Oxford University Press |year=1987 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.120447 |at=pp. 156–157 (Cable to N. Gopalaswami Ayyengar, item 4 and editor's footnote 4}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
After recapturing [[Rajouri]] and the arrival of the [[Indian Army]], some 1,500 refugees that had fled to the hills, including women and children, returned to the town.{{sfn|Sarkar, Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army|2016|pp=37–40}} The capture of Rajouri and the Rajouri Massacre was followed by the capture of Mirpur by Pakistani backed tribals and the subsequent [[Mirpur Massacre]] of Hindus and Sikhs.

The ceasefire line at the end of the war ran to the west of Rajouri district.

April 13 every year is now celebrated as ''Vijay Diwas'' in Rajouri.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/the-day-rajouri-was-recaptured/ |title=The day Rajouri was recaptured |last=Maini |first=K.D. |date=12 April 2015 |website=dailyexcelsior.com|publisher=Daily Excelsior |access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Persecution of Hindus]]
*[[Persecution of Sikhs]]
*[[1947 Mirpur Massacre]]
*[[1947 Jammu massacres]]
*[[Partition of India]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite journal |last=Ankit |first=Rakesh |title=Henry Scott: The forgotten soldier of Kashmir |journal=Epilogue |volume=4 |number=5 |url=http://documents.mx/documents/epilogue-magazine-may-2010.html |date=May 2010 |pages=44–49 |ref={{sfnref|Ankit, Henry Scott|2010}} |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510084911/http://documents.mx/documents/epilogue-magazine-may-2010.html |archive-date=10 May 2017 |url-status=dead }}
* {{citation |last=Bhatia |first=Mohita |title=Rethinking Conflict at the Margins: Dalits and Borderland Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir: Going Beyond the Dominant Discourse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxzhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |year=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-83602-9 |ref={{sfnref|Bhatia, Rethinking Conflict at the Margins|2020}}}}
* {{citation |last=Cheema |first=Brig Amar |title=The Crimson Chinar: The Kashmir Conflict: A Politico Military Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc25BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 |date=2015 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |ISBN=978-81-7062-301-4 |ref={{sfnref|Cheema, Crimson Chinar|2015}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Das Gupta |first=Jyoti Bhusan |title=Jammu and Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpTpCAAAQBAJ |date=2012 |orig-year=first published 1968 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-011-9231-6 |ref={{sfnref|Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir|2012}} }}
* {{citation |last=Palit |first=D. K. |title=Jammu and Kashmir Arms: History of the J & K Rifles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGZDnzqQj2QC |year=1972 |publisher=Palit & Dutt |ref={{sfnref|Palit, Jammu and Kashmir Arms|1972}}}}
* {{citation |last=Raghavan |first=Srinath |title=War and Peace in Modern India: A Strategic History of the Nehru Years |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbtBJb1bsHUC |date=2010 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-00737-7 |ref={{sfnref|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ramachandran|first=D. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Q7EiZmcMPMC&pg=PA171|title=Empire's First Soldiers|date=2008|publisher=Lancer Publishers|isbn=9780979617478|pages=171|language=en |ref={{sfnref|Ramachandran, Empire's First Soldiers|2008}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Col. Bhaskar |title=Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army, 1947-1971 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G2IADAAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |year=2016 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=978-1-897829-73-8 |pages=40–|ref={{sfnref|Sarkar, Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army|2016}}}}
* {{citation |last=Singh |first=K. Brahma |title=History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, 1820-1956: The State Force Background |publisher=Lancer International |ISBN=978-81-7062-091-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=psTeAAAAMAAJ |year=1990 |ref={{sfnref|Brahma Singh, History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles|1990}}}}
** {{citation |last=Singh |first=K. Brahma |title=History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, 1820-1956: The State Force Background |publisher=brahmasingh.co.nf |year=2010 |origyear=first published Lancer International 1990 |ISBN=978-81-7062-091-4 |url=http://www.brahmasingh.co.nf/books/history%20of%20jammu%20and%20kashmir%20rifles.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306195332/http://www.brahmasingh.co.nf/books/history%20of%20jammu%20and%20kashmir%20rifles.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=dead |ref={{sfnref|Brahma Singh, History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book|last=Singh|first=V. K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJDsk_g6tXUC&pg=PA160|title=Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers|date=23 March 2005|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9780761933229|pages=160|language=en |ref={{sfnref|Singh, Leadership in the Indian Army|2005}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Snedden |first=Christopher|year=2013 |author-link=Christopher Snedden |title=Kashmir: The Unwritten History |publisher=HarperCollins India |isbn=978-9350298985 |orig-year=first published as ''The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir'', 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cPjAAAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013}}}}

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[[Category:November 1947 events|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:March 1948 events|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:1948 murders in India|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:1947 murders in India|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:Conflicts in India]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1947|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1948|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1947|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:Partition of India|Rajouri massacre]]
[[Category:Genocides in Asia]]
[[Category:Genocidal rape]]
[[Category:Rape in India]]
[[Category:Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948]]
[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]
[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
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1947 1948 Rajouri massacre - Revision history

MetaBOT at 12:07, 13 July 2023