AngelesEller0 at 19:11, 20 February 2026

2026-02-20T19:11:23Z

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{{Short description|Violence against Hindus in Indian Kashmir in 1986}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 1986 Kashmir Riots/1986 Anantnag Riots
| partof = the [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]
| image = Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh.svg
| caption = Map showing [[Indian-administered Kashmir]] within the larger [[Kashmir]] region, with the [[Kashmir Valley]] highlighted in green
| date = February 1986 – March 1986<ref name="Bill Koul 2020">{{cite book |last=Koul |first=Bill K. |author-link= |date=10 September 2020 |title=The Exiled Pandits of Kashmir Will They Ever Return Home? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CW78DwAAQBAJ |location= |publisher=Springer Singapore |page=214 |isbn=9789811565373}}</ref>
| location = [[Anantnag district|Anantnag]], [[Kashmir Valley|Kashmir]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|J&K]], [[India]]
| coordinates = {{coord|34.0333|N|74.6667|E|display=inline,title}}
| target = [[Kashmiri Hindus]]
[[Hindus]]
| type = [[Arson]], riots, vandalism, looting<ref name="Tikoo">{{cite book|author=Tikoo|first=Colonel Tej K|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuURFTHTU0EC&pg=PT397|title=Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus|publisher=Lancer Publishers LLC|year=2013|isbn=978-1-935501-58-9|pages=397–}}</ref><ref name="Aiyar2006">{{citation|last=Aiyar|first=Mani Shankar|title=Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_7Fsq8rBUtkC&pg=PA148|pages=148–|year=2006|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306205-9|author-link=Mani Shankar Aiyar}}</ref>
| perps = [[Kashmiri Muslims]]
| fatalities = Unknown
}}

The '''1986 Kashmir Riots''', also commonly referred to as the '''1986 Anantnag Riots''', were a series of attacks targeting [[Kashmiri Hindus]] in the [[Kashmir Valley]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]], particularly in [[Anantnag district]].<ref name="Bansi Pandit 2008" />

== Background ==
The JK Land Estates Abolition Act of 1950 allowed the govt to unilaterally confiscate private land owned by landlords, which adversely affected thousands of Kashmiri Hindus overnight. This also led to some Kashmiri Hindus leaving the state.<ref name="Bansi Pandit 2008">{{cite book |last=Pandit |first=Bansi |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Explore Kashmiri Pandits |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zsoC6GWr47QC |location= |publisher=Dharma Publications |page=48-49 |isbn=9780963479860}}</ref>

In 1982, [[Sheikh Abdullah]] died, with his son [[Farooq Abdullah]] taking over soon after. Despite winning the 1983 election, Farooq was replaced by [[Ghulam Mohammad Shah]], also known as Gul Shah. In Anantnag [[Mufti Mohammad Sayeed]], who later founded the PDP, was the elected representative at the time.<ref name="Indian Express 2020">{{cite web |date=January 24, 2020 |title=Explained: The Kashmir Pandit tragedy |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/exodus-of-kashmiri-pandits-from-valley-6232410/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220307115414/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/exodus-of-kashmiri-pandits-from-valley-6232410/ |archive-date=7 March 2022 |access-date=March 8, 2022 |website=The Indian Express}}</ref>

In early 1986, [[Gul Shah]] announced the construction of a [[mosque]] inside the location of an ancient Hindu Temple in the Jammu Civil Secretariat. This move sparked widespread criticism and protests in Jammu. In February, Gul Shah then went to Kashmir and provocatively said, ''"Islam khatre mein hain"'' (Translation: "[[Islam]] is in danger"). Subsequently, Muslim rioters attacked Hindu-owned businesses and places of worship.<ref name="Bansi Pandit 2008"/> The resulting death toll was allegedly 2000 people.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Verma |first1=P. S. |title=Jammu and Kashmir at the Political Crossroads |date=1994 |publisher=Vikas Publishing House |isbn=9780706976205 |page=214 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl5uAAAAMAAJ }}</ref>

== Rioting ==
After the Indian government allowed the [[Babri Masjid]] (the location of the present [[Ram Mandir]], the temple believed to be the birthplace of the deity [[Rama]]) to be opened for Hindu worship, protests erupted. 8 cities in [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] had curfews in place.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/7aace3ff6f33b7ee0fd67aa2cc54b66a |title=Hindu-Moslem riots reported in Kashmir, Calcutta |website=AP News |date=February 22, 1986 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201006081342/https://apnews.com/article/7aace3ff6f33b7ee0fd67aa2cc54b66a |archive-date=6 October 2020 }}</ref> Hindu temples were burned down and destroyed in towns including Vanpoh, [[Anantnag]], [[Sopore]], [[Luk Bawan]], Salar (Pahalgam Tehsil), Fatehpur, and [[Akura, India|Akura]].<ref name="Bansi Pandit 2008" /><ref name="Tikoo">{{cite book|author=Tikoo|first=Colonel Tej K|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuURFTHTU0EC&pg=PT397|title=Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus|publisher=Lancer Publishers LLC|year=2013|isbn=978-1-935501-58-9|pages=397–}}</ref><ref name="Aiyar2006">{{citation|last=Aiyar|first=Mani Shankar|title=Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_7Fsq8rBUtkC&pg=PA148|pages=148–|year=2006|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306205-9|author-link=Mani Shankar Aiyar}}</ref>

Anantnag, which saw much of the violence, had multiple attacks on [[Hindu Temple|Hindu temple]]s. Many Kashmiri Hindu-owned shops, homes and properties were attacked and targeted.<ref name="Indian Express 2020" /> These developments led to a large number of [[Kashmiri Hindus]] shifting to places including [[Udhampur]] and [[Jammu]].

== See also ==
* [[Persecution of Hindus]]
* [[Anti-Hindu sentiment]]
* [[Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus]]
* [[Panun Kashmir]]
* [[Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir]]
* [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]
* [[Timeline of the Kashmir conflict]]
* [[Kashmir conflict]]
* [[Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Religious persecution}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashmir riots, 1986}}
[[Category:1986 riots]]
[[Category:Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Looting in India]]
[[Category:Persecution of Hindus by Muslims]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Jammu and Kashmir|1986]]
[[Category:Arson in 1986]]
[[Category:1980s fires in Asia]]
[[Category:Arson in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Internal migration]]
[[Category:1980s in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Kashmiri nationalism]]
[[Category:Attacks on Hindu temples in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1986]]
[[Category:Religious building and structure arson fires in India]]
[[Category:Hindu temple arson]]

1986 Kashmir riots - Revision history

AngelesEller0 at 19:11, 20 February 2026