https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=1986_Hoshiarpur_bus_massacre1986 Hoshiarpur bus massacre - Revision history2026-07-31T20:07:38ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=1986_Hoshiarpur_bus_massacre&diff=456007&oldid=prevGabrielaPreiss at 16:12, 21 March 20262026-03-21T16:12:43Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Terrorist incident in Punjab, India}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2018}}<br />
{{Infobox civilian attack<br />
| title = Hoshiarpur bus massacre<br />
| location = Khuda, Dasua tehsil, [[Hoshiarpur district]], [[Punjab, India]]<br />
| date = {{start date and age|30 November 1986}}<br />
| partof = [[Insurgency in Punjab]]<br />
| map = {{Location map|India<br />
| width = 250<br />
| float = right<br />
| label = Khuda, Dasua Tehsil, Hoshiarpur district<br />
|marksize = 8<br />
|lat_deg = 30.29<br />
|lon_deg = 74.31<br />
}}<br />
| coordinates = {{coord|31|35|N|75|59|E|display=inline,title}}<br />
| target = [[Punjabi Hindus]]<br />
| type = [[Mass shooting]]<br />
| weapon = Assault rifles<br />
| fatalities = 24 [[Hindus]]<br />
| motive = *Sikh Separatism<br />
*[[Persecution of Hindus]]<br />
}}<br />
The '''1986 Hoshiarpur Bus Massacre''' was a massacre of 24 [[Hindu]] bus-passengers by [[Khalistan]]i [[Militant|militants]].<ref name="NYT_1Dec1986">{{cite news |title=Temple Sikh Extremists Hijack Punjab Bus and Kill 24 People |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/01/world/sikh-extremists-hijack-punjab-bus-and-kill-24-people.html |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=1 December 1986}}</ref> The bus massacre was the worst terrorist incident in Punjab of the year 1986. It occurred on Sunday, 30 November 1986, near Khuda located in the [[Hoshiarpur district]] in the northern state of [[Punjab, India]] close to the [[Indo-Pak border]].<ref name="LAT24Hindus">{{cite news |last1=Tempest |first1=Rone |title=Sikh Gunmen Kill 24 Hindus, Wound 7 on Punjab Bus |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-01-mn-198-story.html |access-date=17 October 2018 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1 December 1986}}</ref> <br />
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According to the local police officials four Khalistani militants carrying automatic weapons ([[AK-47]]) and revolvers hijacked public bus No. PJG 7284, shouting pro-Khalistan slogans and taking it to a remote area. The terrorists then commanded all Hindu passengers to get off the bus. While the passengers were getting down, the terrorists opened fire on them killing twenty-four of them and injuring seven with gunshots.<ref name="LAT24Hindus"/> The gunmen then fled the location after the killings in motorcycles and scooters.<ref name="NYT_1Dec1986"/><br />
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==Objective==<br />
The goal of the terrorists behind the massacre was to drive out the millions of Hindus living in the Punjab state and force the Sikhs living in the other states of India to move in. This would have enabled the Sikh separatists to claim the Punjab state as a sovereign country of Khalistan.<ref name="LAT15Hindus">{{cite news |last1=Tempest |first1=Rone |title=Suspected Sikh Terrorists Kill 15 on India Bus |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-26-mn-2-story.html |access-date=17 October 2018 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=26 July 1986}}</ref> Thousands of refugees belonging to the Hindu religion from Punjab had already moved to New Delhi to escape the communal violence.<ref name="LAT24Hindus"/><br />
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In July same year, after a similar incident of the killing of [[1986 Muktsar Bus massacre|15 people in Muktsar]] in July, Hindu-Sikh riots had broken out in western part of [[New Delhi]], where a majority of Hindu refugees from Punjab lived. Five people were killed in those Riots. The Police in New Delhi were put on increased vigilance with more patrolling to prevent a similar rioting that had happened in July.<ref name="LAT24Hindus"/><br />
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==Reactions==<br />
The [[Prime Minister of India]], [[Rajiv Gandhi]], made a condolence statement on the Sunday night where he had expressed sympathy for the "sorrowing mothers, fathers, wives and children of the victims." He said, "I am with them in this moment of grief, and I resolve with them not to rest until we have conquered the evil designs of disruptive forces,". The attack was called a "grave provocation to secularism, love and brotherhood, the basic principles of new, resurgent India."<ref name="LAT24Hindus"/><br />
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The Governor of Punjab, S.S. Ray, called the incident an "act of madness" and he requested both the Sikhs and the Hindus in the state to maintain peace by keeping restraint.<br />
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According to the Police director of Punjab, [[Julio Ribeiro (police officer)|Julio Ribeiro]], in the last 11 months, more than 400 civilians were killed with an overall figure of more than 450 killed in sectarian violence in Punjab.<ref name="LAT24Hindus"/><br />
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== See also ==<br />
*[[1991 Punjab killings]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoshiarpur bus massacre, 1986}}<br />
[[Category:Massacres in 1986]]<br />
[[Category:Mass shootings in India]]<br />
[[Category:Insurgency in Punjab]]<br />
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 1986]]<br />
[[Category:Terrorism in Punjab, India]]<br />
[[Category:Massacres of Hindus]]<br />
[[Category:Terrorist incidents on buses in India]]<br />
[[Category:Sikh terrorism in India]]<br />
[[Category:Khalistan movement]]<br />
[[Category:Hoshiarpur district]]<br />
[[Category:1986 mass shootings in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:1986 murders in India]]<br />
[[Category:November 1986 in India]]<br />
[[Category:1986 road incidents]]<br />
[[Category:Sikh terrorist incidents in the 1980s]]</div>GabrielaPreiss