Inventaa at 14:06, 23 April 2026

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{{Short description|1993 killing of civilians in Kashmir, India}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 1993 Sopore Massacre
| location = [[Sopore]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]]
| date = {{start date and age|1993|1|6}}
| partof = [[Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir]]
| target = [[Civilians]]
| type = [[Massacre]], [[Incendiary device|Incendiary]], [[Arson]], [[Mass shooting]]
| fatalities = 43–57
| injuries = 20–80 wounded
| perpetrator = {{flagdeco|India}} [[Border Security Force]]
}}

{{Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir}}
The '''Sopore massacre''' refers to the mass killing of at least 43 civilians by [[India]]n [[Border Security Force]] (BSF) who were travelling on a bus from [[Bandipore|Bandipur]] to [[Sopore]] in [[Kashmir]] on 6 January 1993.<ref name="hrw_sopore">{{Cite web |title=India – Human Rights Developments |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/WR94/Asia-05.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030109013531/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/WR94/Asia-05.htm |archive-date=2003-01-09 |access-date=2025-12-27 |website=www.hrw.org |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Human Rights Crisis in Kashmir |url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA937.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209141050/https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA937.PDF |archive-date=2009-02-09 |access-date=2025-12-27 |website=www.hrw.org |publisher=The Human Rights Watch |pages=63–68}}</ref> According to some reports as many as 57 people were killed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MUHAMMAD |first=GHULAM |date=2019-01-06 |title=SOPORE MASSACRE: When 57 civilians were killed, 400 shops and 75 houses burnt down |url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/kashmir/sopore-massacre-when-57-civilians-were-killed-400-shops-and-75-houses-burnt-down |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=Greater Kashmir |language=en}}</ref>

==Background==
[[Sopore]] is a major town in [[Kashmir]] within the [[Baramulla district]], located {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} north-west from [[Srinagar]]. On the morning of 6 January 1993, a group of 7–8 armed [[Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front|JKLF]] militants attacked a platoon of [[Border Security Force]] soldiers at Baba Yousuf Lane near Sopore and killed at least one soldier.<ref name="hrw_sopore"/><ref name="time_sopore">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,977469,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210092812/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,977469,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 December 2008|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=Blood Tide Rising|date=18 January 1993}}</ref>

==Firing==
On this bloody Wednesday, some shopkeepers were not allowed to come out and they were burned alive inside shops.<ref name="independent_sopore">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/outcry-in-delhi-over-kashmir-massacre-1477194.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/outcry-in-delhi-over-kashmir-massacre-1477194.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Outcry in Delhi over Kashmir massacre|last=McGirk|first=Tim|date=8 January 1993|work=The Independent|accessdate=10 April 2009|location=UK}}</ref><ref name="hrw_sopore"/> In all, official [[Government of India|Indian Government]] reports state that 250 shops and 50 homes were burned down although other sources claim as many as 450 buildings were burned down by the border security force.<ref name="independent_sopore"/> ''[[The Independent]]'' reported:<blockquote>The Border Security Forces sprayed a public coach with machine-gun fire, killing the driver and more than 15 passengers, said witnesses. Three other cars were also fired on, and then the paramilitary forces set the vehicles ablaze. Next, they began herding the native Kashmiris into shops and houses, said witnesses. Then the security forces shot them, splashed paraffin over the bodies and set the buildings alight.<ref name="independent_sopore"/></blockquote>

==Response==
The Indian government claimed that the high casualties were the result of an intense gun battle between the BSF soldiers and militants in which an explosives cache belonging to the militants exploded and spread the fire to nearby buildings. However, the government later initiated a judicial inquiry into the matter and suspended several BSF officers due to the publicity the incident had generated.<ref name=hrw_sopore /> The day after the [[massacre]], thousands of Kashmiris, defying a government-imposed curfew, protested against the actions of the BSF soldiers on the streets of Sopore.<ref name="time_sopore"/>

Then-[[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[P. V. Narasimha Rao|Narasimha Rao]] ordered [[List of Governors of Jammu and Kashmir|State Governor]] [[Girish Chandra Saxena|Girish Saxena]] to visit Sopore and announced a compensation of {{INRconvert|100000}} for the relatives of the deceased.<ref name=independent_sopore/> However, Muslim leaders, [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] politicians and human rights organizations criticized Saxena for failing to stop human rights violations by the security forces in Kashmir and demanded a parliamentary delegation be sent to assess the destruction.<ref name=independent_sopore />

==See also==
* [[Bijbehara massacre]]
* [[Kupwara massacre]]
* [[Zakoora and Tengpora massacre]]
* [[1990 Gawkadal massacre|Gawkadal massacre]]
* [[Hawal massacre]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coord missing|Jammu and Kashmir}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sopore massacre, 1993}}
[[Category:Indian war crimes in the Kashmir conflict]]
[[Category:1993 murders in India]]
[[Category:January 1993 crimes]]
[[Category:January 1993 in India]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1993]]
[[Category:1990s in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Sopore|Massacre, 1993]]
[[Category:Massacres committed by India]]
[[Category:Massacres of Muslims in India]]
[[Category:Massacres of Muslims in Kashmir]]
[[Category:Arson in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Arson in 1993]]
[[Category:1990s fires in Asia]]
[[Category:Attacks on shops in India]]
[[Category:Residential building arson attacks in India]]
[[Category:Arson attacks on buses]]
[[Category:Arson attacks on vehicles in India]]
[[Category:Arson deaths]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:1993 mass shootings in Asia]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Massacres of Muslims]]

1993 Sopore massacre - Revision history

Inventaa at 14:06, 23 April 2026