Ajay Kumar at 16:13, 19 August 2023

2023-08-19T16:13:53Z

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{{Short description|1993 killings of Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 1993 Kishtwar Massacre
| image =
| caption =
| location = Sarthal, [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], India
| target = [[Hindu]]s
| date = 14 August 1993
| type = [[Mass murder]]
| fatalities = 16–17
| perps =
}}
{{Violence against Hindus in independent India}}

'''1993 Kishtwar massacre''' was the killing of 16–17 [[Hindu]] bus passengers by Muslim militants in the Sarthal area of Kishtwar district of the erstwhile state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] in India on 14 August 1993.<ref>{{citation |last=Bhatia |first=Mohita |title=Rethinking Conflict at the Margins: Dalits and Borderland Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-108-83602-9 |page=8}}</ref><ref name=Schofield>{{citation |last=Schofield |first=Victoria |author-link=Victoria Schofield |title=Kashmir in conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=1 86064 898 3 |page=173}}</ref><ref name=UPI>{{cite news |title=Muslim extremists massacre 17 Hindus; Army kills 18 intruders |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/08/14/Muslim-extremists-massacre-17-Hindus-Army-kills-18-intruders/9102745300800/ |date=14 August 1993 |publisher=[[United Press International]]}}</ref> The massacre was the first of several communally motivated attacks and mass murders of Hindu civilians by militants during the [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|insurgency]] in the territory.<ref>{{citation |last=Khan |first=Nyla |chapter=The sacred and the secular: religion and politics in Jammu and Kashmir |title=Religion and Politics in Jammu and Kashmir |editor-last1=Tremblay |editor-first1=Reeta Chowdhari |editor-last2=Bhatia |editor-first2=Mohita |year=2021 |publisher=Routledge |page=128}}</ref><ref name=Swami>{{cite web |last=Swami |first=Praveen |author-link=Praveen Swami |title=Pakistani militants bringing communal war back to J&K. Hindu killings in Rajouri are proof |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/security-code/pakistani-militants-bringing-communal-war-back-to-jk-hindu-killings-in-rajouri-are-proof/1297089/ |work=[[The Print]] |date=4 January 2023 |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=Bose2021>{{citation |last=Bose |first=Sumantra |author-link=Sumantra Bose |title=Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-Century Conflict |year=2021 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26271-1 |page=126}}</ref> The massacre marked beginnings of the spread of insurgent violence to [[Jammu region]] and triggered a migration of some Hindus out of the erstwhile Muslim-majority [[Chenab Valley|Doda district]].<ref name=Baweja>{{cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19930915-militants-campaign-exhibits-communal-tinge-in-valley-with-the-killing-of-16-hindus-811514-1993-09-14 |title=Militants' campaign exhibits communal tinge in Valley with the killing of 16 Hindus |last=Baweja |first=Harinder |date=15 September 1993 |work=[[India Today]] |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=kashmirlife>{{cite web |url=https://kashmirlife.net/village-destabilizing-culture-40278/ |title=Village Destabilising Culture |date=26 August 2013 |work=[[Kashmir Life]] |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref>

==Massacre==
On 14 August 1993, a local bus was hijacked in the Sarthal area near the town of [[Kishtwar]] by three Muslim militants armed with [[AK47]]s.<ref name=Swami/><ref name=UPI/> The women and children were made to disembark the bus, the remaining male passengers were taken to a meadow and were segregated into two groups. The Hindus were fired upon by the militants, with 14 bleeding out and dying there and a further two dying while being taken to a local hospital.<ref name=Swami/>

==Aftermath==
The imam of a mosque in Kishtwar publicly denounced the killings and called for a strike in an attempt to prevent inter-community violence in the town, which had nearly equal number of Hindus and Muslims.<ref name=Bose2021/> The attack was also denounced by the [[JKLF]] and [[Hizbul Mujahideen]].<ref name=Schofield/> Curfew was declared across the [[Jammu region]].<ref name=Baweja/> Some Hindus began migrating out of the region after the massacre.<ref name=kashmirlife/> Militias constituting of local villagers called Village Defence Committees (VDC) were formed in the aftermath of the massacre.<ref name=Ali>{{cite web |last=Ali |first=Jehangir |title=After Rajouri Attack, J&K Administration Speeds Up Weapons Training For Militia Groups |url=https://m.thewire.in/article/government/rajouri-attack-jammu-kashmir-village-defence-guards/amp |work=[[The Wire]] |date=10 January 2023 |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=kashmirlife/> These were formed with the goal of preventing migrations similar to the [[exodus of Kashmiri Hindus]] out of the Muslim-majority [[Kashmir Valley]] that had taken place at the beginning of the insurgency.<ref name=Ali/> Indian intelligence agencies claim that a Pakistani militant called Muhammad Sajjad Khan alias Sajjad Afghani had ordered the massacre. As of 2023, no one has been tried or convicted for the massacre.<ref name=Swami/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 1993]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1993]]
[[Category:Massacres in India]]
[[Category:Kishtwar district]]
[[Category:1990s in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]
[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:August 1993 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Massacres of Hindus in Kashmir]]

1993 Kishtwar massacre - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 16:13, 19 August 2023