2000 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre
August 2000, Kashmir massacre on 1 and 2 August was the massacre of at least 89 people (official count) to 105 (as reported by PTI) and injury to at least 62 people, in at least five different coordinated attacks by Kashmiri separatist militants in Anantnag district and Doda district of Kashmir valley in India.[1]
Out of these, 32 were killed on 2 August in 2000, Amarnath yatra massacre at Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam. Dead included 21 Hindu pilgrims, 7 local Muslim shopkeepers and 3 security officers, and 7 more people were also injured.[2][3]
Details
Total up to 105 or more killed and at least 62 injured, in five separate coordinated terror attacks, include the following partial count on the morning of 3 August 2000:[1]
2000 Amarnath pilgrim massacre at Pahalgam base camp
At least 32 people and 60 more injured, who were mostly unarmed civilians persons. 21 were Hindu pilgrims, seven Muslims shopkeepers and porters, and 3 security officials.[1] The pilgrims were on their way to Amarnath cave shrine on annual pilgrimage.[4] Many of those killed were local Bakarwal gurjar muslim men and porters hiring their horses and services to ferry the pilgrims to the site.[5] Subsequently, then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pahalgam and blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba for the killings.[6]
2000 twin Hindu massacres at Mirbazar-Qazigund and Sandoo-Acchabal
At least 27 unarmed poor civilian migrant labourers, from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, were killed in similar simultaneous terror attacks in two separate places at Mirbazar-Qazigund and Sandoo-Acchabal in Anantnag district.[1]
2000 Hindu massacre at Doda
At least 11 unarmed Hindu civilian people were killed in a pre-dawn terrorist attack in a remote village.[1]
2000 massacre at Kupwara
At least 7 unarmed civilian were killed when around the same time as Doda attack, another group of terrorists simultaneously attacked another remote village in Kupwara to seven Muslim members of a family of a surrendered former militant.[1]
2000 massacre at Kayar
At least 8 unarmed civilian were killed and 2 more injured in an ambush by terrorists of a group of village defence committee petrol party members of Kayar village of Doda district.[1]
Aftermath
Then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee of National Democratic Alliance (India), blamed Pakistan for being determined to sabotage democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.[7]
See also
- Kanwar Yatra
- Terrorist attack on Amarnath Yatra (2017)
- 2003 Nadimarg massacre
- Amarnath land transfer controversy
- Islamic terrorism
- List of massacres in India
- List of terrorist incidents in India
- List of Islamist terrorist attacks
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amarnath. |
- Official website
- Amarnath: Journey to the shrine of a Hindu god, Boston Globe news story in pictures, 13 July 2012.
- Amarnath temple Ishtadevata, chief deity Shiva.
- Amarnath yatra video documentary, length 9.12m.
- Expert Speak on Kashmir context: An analysis of complexities of Hindus and pro-India Pahari Gujar-Bakarwal Shias of Kashmir and separatist Kashmiri Sunni militants, Observer Research Foundation.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Night of massacres leaves 105 dead in valley", The Tribune, 3 August 2000.
- ↑ "Amarnath Yatra devotees have faced repeated terror attacks: Here's the blood-soaked history of pilgrimage", First Post, 11 July 2017.
- ↑ Amarnath pilgrimage resumes, BBC, 4 August 2000
- ↑ Night of massacres leaves 105 dead in valley, The Tribune, 3 August 2000
- ↑ Muslim militants kill 21 Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir, The Independent, 2 August 2000
- ↑ Prime Minister Vajpayee's statement in Parliament regarding the recent massacre in Jammu & Kashmir
- ↑ Anuja Boss, A Look At The Bloody History Of Terror Attacks On Amarnath Yatra Pilgrims, Huffington Post, 11 July 2017.