1998 Wandhama massacre
The 1998 Wandhama massacre refers to the killings of 23 Kashmiri Hindus in the town of Wandhama34°14′55″N 74°44′00″E in the Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir, India on 25 January, 1998.[2] The massacre was blamed on the militant outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. The victims included four children and nine women.[3][4][1][5][6]
| Wandhama Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Wandhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Date | 25 January 1998 |
| Target | Kashmiri Hindus |
Attack type | Mass murder |
| Deaths | 23 |
| Perpetrators | Lashkar-e-Taiba Hizbul Mujahideen[1] |
| Motive | Islamist Terrorism |
The massacre
According to the testimony of one of the survivors of the incident, a 14-year-old Hindu boy named Vinod Kuman Dhar, the gunmen came to their house dressed like Indian Army soldiers, had tea with them, waiting for a radio message indicating that all Hindu families in the village had been covered. After a brief conversation they rounded up all the members of the Hindu households and then summarily gunned them down with Kalashnikov rifles.[7]
Perpetrators
The Indian government has blamed the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba for carrying out the massacre.[1]
Other accounts blamed Abdul Hamid Gada of Hizbul Mujahideen. In these accounts, the massacre was timed to coincide with Shab-e-Qadar, the holiest night of the month of Ramadan, when believers stay awake until dawn.[8] Gada was subsequently killed by Indian security forces in 2000.[9]
Aftermath
The day after the incident, agitating Kashmiri Hindus clashed with police in New Delhi, broke barricades and tried to force their way to the National Human Rights Commission. At least 11 protesters were injured in the clashes.[10]
Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral joined the mourners in Wandhama on 28 January, accompanied by Governor K. V. Krishna Rao, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, and Union Minister for Environment Saifuddin Soz. Gujral said:
I have come here to express my grief on behalf of the nation. The people of Punjab had unitedly defeated the nefarious designs of the enemy. The people of Kashmir will also defeat the designs.
There were also protests in several refugee camps where Kashmiri Hindus had been living since their exodus in 1990.[11]
See also
- 2003 Nadimarg massacre
- 1998 Prankote massacre
- Chittisinghpura massacre, another massacre in Kashmir where perpetrators wore Indian Army uniforms
- List of massacres in India
Notes
International Terrorism. Darby, PA: Diane Publishing. 2001. ISBN 9780756701055.
References
- "Violent 'army of the pure'". BBC News. 14 December 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- "Villagers massacred in Kashmir". BBC News. 26 January 1998. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- "State Department comments on the Massacre". Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- International Terrorism p.157
- Kashmir Massacre May Signal the Coming of Widespread Violence, The New York Times, 2003-03-25. ProQuest 92698458, ProQuest 2230066200
- Kashmir Massacre Shakes Village's Sense of Fraternity, Los Angeles Times, 2003-03-30. ProQuest 421765061
- Dutta, Pradeep (28 July 2002). "I saw them kill my entire family". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
- Swami, Parveen (April 2000). "The killing of Hamid Gada". Archived from the original on 1 October 2003.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - 'Top militant' killed in Kashmir, BBC, 14 March 2000
- Wandhama's endless night The Pioneer - 24 June 2008
- "Migrant Pandits voted for end of terror in valley". The Tribune. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2018.