Template:Infobox civilian attack
The 1947 Kamoke train massacre was an attack on a refugee train and subsequent massacre of Hindu and Sikh refugees by a Muslim mob at Kamoke, Pakistan on 24 September 1947 following the partition of India.Template:Sfn The train was carrying approx. around 3,000-3,500 refugees from West PunjabTemplate:Sfn and was attacked 25 miles from Lahore by a mob of thousands of Muslims.[1] Figures for the number of people killed vary, with West Punjab officials reporting figures of around 400 and East Punjab-based reports suggesting thousands of casualties. Additionally, around 600 female refugees were abducted by the attackers.Template:Sfn[2] Local railway officials, Muslim League National Guards and local goons aided and participated in the massacre and the subsequent abductions of the surviving female refugees.[3]
Massacre
A train carrying Hindu and Sikh refugees from West Punjab was headed for India. Most of the refugees had been placed in open livestock wagons.Template:Sfn The train was halted for the night, apparently due to damage to the track. Muslim gangs were seen roaming around the train through the night, and by morning a large mob of Muslims gathered outside the train.Template:Sfn The train was attacked at noon and the refugees were killed. Young women and girls were abducted by the attackers.Template:Sfn The attack is reported to have lasted 40 minutes.[2] The Muslim attackers are reported to have attacked the train from the back.[4] The troops which were escorting the train, consisting of 13 Hindu and 8 Muslim soldiers — reportedly fired upon the attackers and killed 78 of them.[1][4] The train was reportedly taken to Gujranwala after the massacre so that the injured could be treated at a hospital.[1]
Casualties
Initial reports put the number of dead at 340 and that of wounded at 250 as announced by the West Punjab government.[1] In reports appearing a week from the incident, The Tribune reported that only 150 people had survived out of a total 3,500 refugees, suggesting a much higher death toll.Template:Sfn G.D. Khosla states that “almost the entire body of passengers was killed”, and around 600 women and girls were abducted.Template:Sfn A report by Pakistan's Punjab police put the figure of dead at 408, with an additional 587 injured. It also reported “a large number” of female refugees abducted.Template:Sfn
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Another Indian Train Massacre. The Daily News(26 September 1947). Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Train Passengers Slaughtered. The Muswellbrook Chronicle(26 September 1947). Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ↑ [{{{url}}} Abduction of women during the partition of the Punjab](1995).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Moslems attack train, slay Hindus, Sikhs. Northern Advocate(26 September 1947). Retrieved 19 March 2023.
Bibliography
- The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts. Rupa/OUP Pakistan.
- [{{{url}}} The Punjab: Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed]. Rupa Publications.
- [{{{url}}} Stern Reckoning: A Survey of the Events leading up to and following the Partition of India]. Oxford University Press.