https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=1990_Pazipora_massacre1990 Pazipora massacre - Revision history2026-07-31T12:21:41ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=1990_Pazipora_massacre&diff=481984&oldid=prevBarkatofficial at 13:10, 6 January 20262026-01-06T13:10:34Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|1990 killing of civilians in Pazipora, Kupwara, Kashmir}}<br />
{{Infobox civilian attack<br />
| title = Pazipora massacre<br />
| location = Pazipora, [[Kupwara district]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]]<br />
| date = {{start date and age|1990|8|8}}<br />
| target = [[Civilians]]<br />
| type = [[Massacre]]<br />
| fatalities = 26 killed<br />
| injuries = 60+ wounded<br />
| perpetrator = [[Indian Army]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Pazipora massacre''' refers to the massacre of at least 26 [[Kashmiri Muslims|Kashmiri]] civilians by the [[Indian Army]] on 8 August 1990 in Pazipora, Kupwara district, [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. Over sixty people were wounded, three women were raped and around ten houses were set on fire.<ref name="KL">{{Cite web |title=Summer Slaughter |url=https://kashmirlife.net/summer-slaughter-issue-19-vol-10-182849/ |date=8 August 2018 |work=Kashmir Life |access-date=2025-09-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite book<br />
| last = Kazi<br />
| first = Seema<br />
| title = Law, Governance and Gender in Indian-Administered Kashmir<br />
| series = Working Paper Series, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University<br />
| date = November 2012<br />
| pages = 25<br />
| format = PDF<br />
| url = https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Law_Gender_and_Governance_in_Indian-admi.pdf<br />
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=1993-05-01 |title=Rape in Kashmir |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/1993/05/01/rape-kashmir/crime-war |journal=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Background ==<br />
{{Main|Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir}}<br />
<br />
The Pazipora massacre took place in the early phase of the [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]], which began in 1989 after widespread political unrest, electoral malpractice allegations, and rising support for separatist groups. By mid-1990, the region was under the direct control of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, empowered through the [[Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act]] (AFSPA).<ref name="KL" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-04-01 |title=AFSPA: Licence to kill |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/afspa-licence-to-kill/article23592020.ece |access-date=2025-09-07 |website=Frontline |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== The incident == <br />
On the morning of August 8, 1990, villagers were working in paddy fields when an army convoy arrived in Pazipora around 11 am. Local people reported a group of soldiers (with weapons, military equipment, helmets and camouflage) exited the convoy, arrived in the area, and then opened fire "indiscriminately". As civilians were hiding in the tall grass, they were shot as they attempted to flee. The end of violence left 26 dead, over 60 wounded, three women allegedly raped, and ten homes burned. One survivor, Ghulam Nabi Tantray who would become Sarpanch of the village, described being shot in both thighs and being put on and dragged into a military truck. He remembered the scenes of villagers "crying in pain and screaming for help," many of whom died from their injuries waiting for medical assistance.<ref name="KL" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-05-09 |title=Outlook India - India's Best Magazine{{!}} Find Latest News, Top Headlines, Live Updates |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/books/invisible-grief-news-211566 |access-date=2025-09-07 |website=Outlook India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kaul, Nitasha and Zia, Ather |date=1 December 2018 |title=Knowing in Our Own Ways: Women and Kashmir |journal=Review of Women's Studies, *Economic & Political Weekly* |volume=53 |issue=47 |pages=33–35}}</ref><br />
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== Aftermath == <br />
Despite the severity of the killings, survivors reported that no official investigation or prosecution followed. The massacre has remained largely absent from official records but continues to persist in local memory as part of Kashmir’s oral history. It is remembered as one of the early mass killings of civilians during the insurgency.<ref name="KL" /> <br />
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== In political discourse == <br />
The massacre was raised in the [[Lok Sabha]] by Prof. Saifuddin Soz and other members, who called for investigations into atrocities in Kashmir during 1990.<ref name=":0">{{cite web<br />
| title = Lok Sabha Debates, Ninth Lok Sabha, Fourth Session, 1990<br />
| url = https://eparlib.sansad.in/bitstream/123456789/1334/1/lsd_09_04_07-11-1990.pdf<br />
| publisher = Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi<br />
| date = 7 November 1990<br />
| pages = 23<br />
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=AFSPA: Licence to Kill |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/afspa-licence-to-kill/article23592020.ece |work=Frontline |date=20 April 2018 |access-date=2025-09-07}}</ref><br />
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==See also== <br />
* [[Gawkadal massacre]] <br />
* [[Bijbehara massacre]] <br />
* [[Kupwara massacre]] <br />
* [[Zakoora and Tengpora massacre]] <br />
* [[Hawal massacre]] <br />
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== References == <br />
{{reflist}} <br />
<br />
{{coord missing|Jammu and Kashmir}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]] <br />
[[Category:Massacres in 1990]] <br />
[[Category:Massacres committed by India]]<br />
[[Category:Indian war crimes in the Kashmir conflict]]</div>Barkatofficial