The primary issue of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir has traditionally been viewed as a political one rather than as an act of “Jihad.” The massacre of the Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s, which resulted in widespread rapes, killings and the exodus of the minority Pandit community from the valley, where the sinister slogans “convert, die, or leave” echoed from every direction, and now the most recent terror attack in Reasi that claimed the lives of ten Hindus, including women and a child are stark reminders of the Islamic roots of the violence in the region.

The perpetrators might have changed their strategies and tactics, however, their ideology rests in their steadfast conviction of eliminating the Kafir or Kufar (infidel) and imposing “Nizam-e-Mustafa” (System of Prophet Muhammad) on Kashmir on the dead bodies of Hindus. The spate of terror acts, which have now shaken the Jammu region has once again demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that terrorists are specifically aiming to instill fear in the peaceful Hindu population. These assaults are motivated by their intense and unbridled enmity towards Hindus rather than any “political resistance” against the government of India.

This article chronicles such horrifying instances of the merciless massacre of Hindus at the hands of Islamic zealots in the last few years. OpIndia has brought you more than twenty-seven of these horrifying instances of the merciless massacre of Hindus at the hands of Islamic zealots.

The war on Kufar: Waging jihad against Hindus

In February this year, dead bodies of non-Muslims have been collected in Jammu and Kashmir since the second month when terrorists opened fire on 31-year-old Amritpal Singh and 27-year-old Rohit Masih, two carpenters from Amritsar, Punjab, in the Shalla Kadal neighbourhood of the old Srinagar city. Amritpal Singh passed away instantly while Rohit Masih who received bullets in the abdomen was taken to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital and then shifted to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences for advanced treatment where he died from his wounds. The two were working in Jammu and Kashmir to help their impoverished families.

According to the authorities, the terrorists shot them from a very close distance and wounded them critically. They sprayed bullets on them adjacent to their rented house in the Shaheed Gunj area of the city. Later, Additional Director General of Police Vijay Kumar stated, “Adil Manzoor Langoo, the terrorist who opened fire on the two labourers from Punjab in the Habba Kadal area of the city on 7th February, has been arrested.”

Raju Shah, son of Shankar Shah, a native of Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on 17th April after Pramjit Singh, a cab driver from Delhi was attacked on 8th April. However, he did not suffer any fatal injuries. The attack on street vendor Raju Shah took place in the evening in the South Kashmiri town of Bijbehara, Anantnag. He was critically injured when the terrorists at Jablipora where he resided with his family opened fire on him at point-blank range. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries. Locals stated that he was hit by two bullets, one in his neck and the other in his abdomen.

The injured person, who was shot at by #terrorists, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Search #operation underway in the area. Further details to follow.@JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/uWSJI2cgeO

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) April 17, 2024

About two months afterwards, on 9th June at around 6.15 pm, terrorists ambushed a bus carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi resulting in at least ten fatalities including women and a little boy as well as thirty-three further injuries. There were approximately 50 people on the bus. The incident occurred in Teryath village in the Poni area, where the assailants opened fire at the 53-seater bus filled with devotees heading towards Katra. The vehicle veered off the road and fell into a deep gorge. They fired at least fifty rounds on the bus before it swerved off the road. Witnesses reported that there were two terrorists.

A victim disclosed, “As we returned after darshan from the Shiv Khori temple, after around half an hour, there was firing on the bus and the windows were shattered. Everyone on the bus started asking to get down, so we could not see what happened. After a few seconds, our bus fell into the gorge. Even then the terrorists continued firing for some time.” Another unveiled, “We were returning after having darshan at Shiv Khori shrine when one terrorist came in the middle of the road and opened fire on the bus. He fired bullets at the driver first and the terrorists persisted in their relentless attack for some time even when the four-wheeler slid into the gorge.”

Attacks on Hindus in 2023

The first day of 2023 was marred with bloodshed when two heavily armed terrorists broke into homes in the Dangri village near Jammu’s Rajouri, on 1st January and started shooting at Hindu families due to which four civilians, Deepak Kumar (23), Satish Kumar (45), Pritam Lal (56) and Shiv Pal (32) were killed and few others were injured. After a span of twelve hours, an improvised explosive device IED planted by the terrorists in the village caused the deaths of 4-year-old Vihan Sharma and 16-year-old Samiksha Sharma while Prince Sharma, who was in his 20s and had suffered wounds in the terrorist assault died on 8th January.

Big Breaking News: Heavily armed terrorists attacked Hindu families near Ram Temple in Rajouri, Jammu Kashmir, in which 4 people dead & 7 other injured

The deceased are identified as Dipak Kr, Satish Kr, Prem Lal

Injured with gunshot wounds have been shifted to the hospital
+ pic.twitter.com/Ckj0Q1GgOR

— Ashwini Shrivastava (@AshwiniSahaya) January 2, 2023

The terrorists who were believed to be two in number barged into three houses of the Hindu community at around 7 pm and fired at the civilians after confirming their identities through Aadhaar cards. They were wearing masks and initially shot multiple individuals at a house in Upper Dangri. Thereafter, they attacked two other houses situated at a distance and wounded more persons before running away from there.

A 40-year-old Kashmiri Pandit was killed by terrorists on 25th February 2023 in the Pulwama region of Jammu and Kashmir while he was on his way to a nearby market. Sanjay Sharma, an ATM guard, was shot in the chest at close range around 100 meters from his home in the Achan locality of the south Kashmir region at around 11 am, according to the police. He was taken to a hospital by passersby but died from his wounds. According to his coworkers, he had stopped reporting for duty because of a previous wave of terror attacks on members of the Hindu community.

#AwantiporaEncounterUpdate: Killed #terrorist identified as Aqib Mustaq Bhat of #Pulwama (A category). He initially worked for HM #terror outfit, nowadays he had been working with TRF. #Killer of late Sanjay Sharma #neutralised: ADGP Kashmir@JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/1EdTeobWYP

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) February 28, 2023

On 28th February, Kashmir police declared that Aqib Mushtaq Bhat of Pulwama who was responsible for the killing was neutralised during an encounter in Awantipora. According to the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), he was formerly a member of Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen and then started working for The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of another anti-India, Pakistani terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

27-year-old Sham Deepu Kumar who was from Udhampur was shot dead by terrorists on 29th May in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir in May. He was shot dead by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists when he went to the market to buy milk. He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. He was working at a private circus fair at an amusement park near Janglat Mandi in Anantnag.

Manoj Sinha, the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir granted Rs 5 lakh to Deepu Kumar’s family members. Deepu was from the isolated Thial village in Majalta, approximately sixty kilometres away from the Udhampur district headquarters. Deepu Kumar was survived by his pregnant wife, blind father and his sibling, who has also been experiencing vision problems for the past four years along with his spouse and their two children. They were living in a one-story mud house on a slope in the village. “He was the sole breadwinner of the family. My eyes have been defective for the last four years. My father is visually impaired, he can’t work. We are completely destroyed. We want justice. What was our fault,” his brother questioned.

On 30th October, a migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh passed away from gunshot wounds inflicted by a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama region. The man, identified as 38-year-old Mukesh Singh, was shot at in the Rajpora area at around 12:45 pm. He was employed at a brick kiln and had gone to a neighbouring store to buy necessities when terrorists fired at him from point-blank range. Three shots were fired, aiming for his head and torso.

Several brick kilns in Tumchi village, which is bordered by the districts of Budgam and Pulwama, hire migrant labourers. Mukesh Singh hailed from the Bhatpura hamlet of the Unnao district which is forty kilometres away from Lucknow.

Attacks on Hindus in 2022

Rahul Bhat a Kashmiri Pandit was killed by terrorists inside his office in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on 12th May. The 35-year-old was gunned down inside the Tehsil office in Chadoora town. He got a job as a clerk in the revenue department under the special employment package for migrants in 2010-11. He left behind his wife Meenakshi Bhat and a 7-year-old daughter Kritika. They were staying with him at Sheikhpora Migrant Colony in Budgam. His mortal remains were brought to his home in the Durga Nagar area of Jammu.

The incident led to massive protests by the Kashmiri Hindu community. “He used to say everyone behaves nicely with him and nobody can harm him. Yet nobody protected him, they must have asked someone about him and his identity, otherwise, how would they’ve known,” Rahul Bhat’s wife asked asserting that the assailants must have gathered information about his whereabouts from his workplace.

She revealed that her husband felt “insecure” while working in Chadoora and had requested the local administration to transfer him to the district headquarters. She added, “But despite repeated pleas, he wasn’t transferred.” His father demanded, “First, they asked who Rahul Bhat is and then they shot him. We want an inquiry. There was a police station 100 feet away. There must have been security at the office but nobody was there. They should check CCTV footage.”

Rahul Bhat was an innocent common Kashmiri Pandit Govt employee who was working hard for a living. He was targeted for being a Hindu in Kashmir. In 1990, more than 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus met forced exile due to Islamist Jihad and genocide of Hindus. Blood lust hasn’t ended yet. pic.twitter.com/RO74fGqkTq

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 12, 2022

Notably, within twenty hours of the murder, the security forces eliminated the three terrorists two of whom were identified as Gulzar Ahmed and Lateef Rather alias Abdullahin Bandipora. The latter was also involved in the killing of TV artist Amreen Bhat. The trio belonged to The Resistance Front (TRF) which authorities surmise was supported by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to provide an indigenous face to terror in Kashmir in order to deflect criticism from other quarters.

Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in another targeted attack on 13th April shot dead a civilian named Satish Kumar Singh Rajput who was a resident of Kulgam. He was lacerated with bullets at his home in Kakran village. The incident took place in the Pombay Kamprim area of Kulgam district at around 7:30 pm. Satish Kumar Singh was a professional driver from a very low-income background. He was originally from Jammu and belonged to the Rajput community, which around 70 years ago had settled in districts bordering Shopian and Kulgam.

Satish Kumar Singh was the only provider for the family, which included his elderly mother, wife and three daughters, Sakshi, Senoni, and Meenakshi who were between seven and twelve years old. He took special care of Sakshi because she suffered from a disability. There are a few Rajput families living in the Kulgam and Shopian who are primarily into the apple business.

Terrorist group Lashkar-e-Islam had issued a warning to Hindus, ordering them to flee Kashmir or die. The occurrence came as a shock to the less than a dozen Rajput families who chose to remain in south Kashmir’s Kakran village, even during the worst times. Nine days prior, in Shopian, terrorists fired at a Kashmiri Pandit, injuring him. Five further strikes targeting migrant labourers in Pulwama over the previous weeks wounded seven individuals, three of whom were from Punjab, three from Bihar, and one from Uttar Pradesh.

On 13th May, a bus taking pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi shrine in the Reasi region of Jammu and Kashmir caught fire near Katra, resulting in the deaths of at least four people and the injuries of 24 more. The vehicle caught fire near Kharmal, located about 1.5 kilometres from Katra. The terror group “J&K Freedom Fighters” claimed responsibility for the assault.

Four pilgrims charred to death and 24 persons received burn injuries when a #Jammu bound bus from #Katra caught fire near #Nommai, 3 Kms from Katra today. 14 injureds shifted to GMC Jammu.

REPORT : @devjmu pic.twitter.com/ormMo26DmP

— Akashvani News Jammu (@radionews_jammu) May 13, 2022

The attack was reportedly carried out with a sticky bomb. A team from the National Investigation Organization (NIA), a counterterrorism investigative organization had also paid a visit to the location and examined the four-wheeler. An initial examination revealed that the fire originated in the engine compartment and quickly spread throughout the entire bus. The wounded were taken to Katra for treatment but two persons lost their lives instantly.

An unknown terrorist disguising himself as a customer and threw a grenade into a recently opened wine shop in Baramulla’s Dewan Bagh on the night of 15th May, 2022, leaving one person dead and three injured. The deceased was identified as 35-year-old Rajouri resident Ranjit Singh, son of Kishan Lal, a resident of Bakhar village in Rajouri, who was working at the Garrison town’s wine shop. The injured employees were Govardhan Singh, son of Bijendra Singh, Ravi Kumar, son of Kartar Chand, both residents of Billawar, Kathua and Govind Singh, son of Gurdev Singh who was also from Rajouri.

Police conveyed, “Terrorists lobbed hand grenades inside a newly-opened wine shop in Baramulla. Four employees received splinter injuries. All the injured were immediately shifted to nearby hospitals. One among them succumbed to his injuries. At about 8.10 pm, two (terrorists) riding on a bike stopped near the newly opened wine shop at Dewan Bagh Baramulla. The pillion rider wearing a Burka walked to the window of the wine shop, dropped a grenade inside the wine shop through the porthole window and thereafter fled away on the bike from the spot.” The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the blast.

On 31st May, terrorists in the Kashmir region’s Kulgam district shot at a 36-year-old Hindu school teacher named Rajni Bala, a native of Samba in the Jammu region. According to the police, she was hurt by gunfire from terrorists in the Gopalpora neighbourhood of Kulgam, where she worked as a teacher. She was taken to the hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.

A teacher at the Gopalpora school narrated, “She was walking towards her school. Just when she had reached the entrance, a gunman fired from a narrow alley. She was hit on the head and fell down at the gate. We immediately took her to the hospital but she was declared dead there.” Her family’s rented home in Chawalgam hamlet is around seven kilometres away from the Government High School in Gopalpora, where she was posted and roughly 100 metres from a residential area encircled by thick orchards.

She was survived by her husband Raj Kumar, also a school teacher posted at the Government Middle School in Mirhama which is less than 4 kilometres from her school and their 13-year-old daughter Sana. The couple were appointed as government teachers in 2009 under the Scheduled Caste (SC) category and posted at Kulgam. Security forces killed two terrorists on 14th June in Kulgam who were involved in the killing of Rajni Bala during a two-day encounter. The terrorists were concealed in thick orchards. The security forces had trapped one of them during the early hours of the encounter.

On 2nd June terrorists killed two Hindus in separate assaults in the valley. The first one was identified as 27-year-old Vijay Kumar a bank manager from Bhagwan village in Nohar tehsil of Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district. He was posted at the State Bank of India (SBI)-led Ellaquai Dehati Bank and was shot dead in south Kashmir’s Kulgam in the morning while an 18-year-old labourer Dilkhush Kumar, son of Narayana Rishidev of Bihar was shot dead in Budgam district in the evening. Another worker identified as Goria of Gurdaspur, Punjab was wounded in the firing.

Vijay Kumar was performing his duties when terrorists opened fire from a close range at him in the Arreh-Mohanpora branch of the bank in Kulgam. Police stated, “He received grievous gunshot injuries in this terror incident. Later, he succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.” Kashmir Freedom Fighters (KFF), the proxy name of a terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The victim was posted in the bank branch five days back. He was earlier posted as a manager in the Kokernag area of Anantnag. He got married three months ago and was living with his wife in Qazigund. The terrorists opened fire from point-blank range at him. The entire instance was recorded on a CCTV camera. Security forces eliminated the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists including one Jan Mohammad Lone of Shopian involved in the killing.

The terror attack on two Hindu labourers took place in the Magraypora area of Budgam. Kashmir Zone Police informed, “Terrorists fired upon 2 outside labourers working in a Brick Kiln in Chadoora area of Budgam. Both were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, however, one among them succumbed.” One had a bullet wound in the hand while the other was struck with a bullet in the neck. Dilkhush Kumar was the only son of his parents and had gone to Kashmir in March to earn a living.

A Kashmiri Pandit named Sunil Kumar was killed in a terrorist attack while his brother Pintu Kumar was injured at an apple orchard in the Chhotepora area of the Shopian district on 16th August. Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha expressed, “Pained beyond words on the despicable terror attack on civilians in Shopian. My thoughts are with the family of Sunil Kumar. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. The attack deserves the strongest condemnation from everyone. Terrorists responsible for barbaric acts will not be spared.”

Two terrorists visited the orchard in the afternoon, according to police officials. One began firing on the brothers with an AK-47 rifle, while the other used his cell phone camera to record the incident. Sunil Kumar, who left behind four daughters and his wife died on the spot, and his brother battled for life at an army hospital. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Vijay Kumar stated that eyewitnesses to the crime disclosed that Adil Wani, an Al Badr terrorist who lived in Kutpora, Shopian, was the one who carried out the attack. The other person with him was an overground worker.

Pooran Krishan Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit was shot dead by terrorists in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on 15th October. He was attacked near his residence in the Chowdhary Gund area of the south Kashmir district. He was rushed to Shopian Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Deputy Inspector General of Police Sujit Kumar stated the Kashmir Freedom Fighter claimed responsibility for the attack. The initial investigation revealed that one terrorist fired upon him. “We are looking at the reason (for the lapse). He had gone out on a scooter and just returned to his home,” the senior cop added.

“He left behind two little children. He was the only breadwinner. Now, he’s no more. Everything is finished. It is a targeted killing. They don’t kill just anyone who comes before them but those whom they don’t like. They don’t want Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir,” stated his brother-in-law. It has been reported that following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, he moved his wife and their two children, a girl in Class 7 and a boy in Class 5 to Jammu. All of them were previously residing in Shopian.

On 19th December the security forces neutralised three local terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit in the Shopian district. Two of them were identified as Lateef Lone and Umer Nazir and they were involved in the killing of Pooran Krishan Bhat and a Nepali Hindu labourer Till Bahadur Thapa. The encounter which commenced in the wee hours was launched jointly by the police, army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and took place in the orchards in the Mujah Marg area of Shopian. A rifle and two pistols were recovered from the location.

Ram Sagar (50) and Manish Kumar (40), two labourers from Kanauj, Uttar Pradesh, were slain on 16th October after terrorists threw a grenade into the tin shack where they were resting in Hermain village of the Shopian district. According to a relative, they were a member of a group that travelled to Shopian in September to work in the apple orchards during harvest time. Additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar stated, “The labourers from Uttar Pradesh were working here, living on rent. The grenade was thrown inside after lifting the tarpaulin (sheet). The man who threw the grenade is a hybrid terrorist and we arrested him during the night itself. He has confessed. His associate has also been arrested.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba ‘hybrid terrorist’ Imran Bashir Ganai who was arrested hours after the occurrence was killed during an anti-terror operation on 18th October. A ‘hybrid terrorist’ is a term used by the police for a person who is not listed as a terrorist but carries out terrorist attacks and slips back into society without any trace. Kashmir Zone police informed, “Based on the disclosure of arrested hybrid terrorist and in continuous raids by police and security forces, another contact has been established between terrorists and security forces at Nowgam, Shopian, in which hybrid terrorist Imran Bashir Ganaie was killed by the firing of another terrorist.” It added that incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were seized from the hideout site.

Attacks on Hindus in 2021

On 5th October two Hindus lost their lives in different terror attacks. 68-year-old Makhan Lal Bindroo, a Kashmiri Pandit, a philanthropist and the owner of Srinagar’s popular “Bindroo Medicate” pharmacy was shot dead by terrorists close to Iqbal Park while Virendra Paswan, a native of the Bhagalpur district of Bihar who was living in the Alamgari Bazar Zadibal was also killed in another incident. Makhan Lal Bindroo was shot at by the assailants point blank at his pharmacy. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead. Terrorists then struck the Hawal area of the city within an hour and killed Virendra Paswan who was a street vendor and used to sell bhelpuri. He was also shot at point blank and died on the spot.

Makhan Lal Bindroo was one of the few from the community who did not migrate out at the onset of militancy in 1990. He stayed back along with his wife to continue operating his business which grew to become a trusted name in the city for quality medicines. The police mentioned that he would keep his shop open even on days of terrorist attacks when the entire market would be shut. Furthermore, he never closed his business, even when separatists called for a strike.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh clarified, referring to the false rumours that Makhan Lal Bindroo was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh highlighting, “TRF (The Resistance Front) is run from Karachi. We will soon expose this nexus from across (the border). The victims were not affiliated with any group. It’s a malicious propaganda by TRF that Bindroo was working with the RSS.”

“I am an associate professor, my brother is a famous diabetologist and my mother runs our shop. Our father had started from nothing, but this is what he has made us. These people (terrorists) can only kill the body, but not the spirit. They are not capable of having meaningful discussions, or a sane debate. Stone-pelting and firing bullets are all they are capable of. You people have killed a body, but you cannot kill my father’s legacy and his spirit. If you think you have guts, come and sit before us and have a discussion. Here I am, my Kashmiri Pandit Hindu father’s Kashmiri Pandit Hindu daughter. Come and face me,” his daughter Dr Shraddha Bindroo had challenged.

Terrorists killed Satinder Kaur, the principal of Government Boys Higher Secondary School and Deepak Chand a teacher at the school at 11.15 am on 7th October. Terrorists stormed into the institution situated in Srinagar’s Sangam vicinity and fatally shot the two at close range. There were no students there at the time as classes were still online. Around four of five teachers were having a meeting in the principal’s office when two terrorists entered the premises and lined up all of them. They were then directed to produce their identity cards and mobile phones and were also interrogated by the terrorists.

Muslim teachers were presumably let go while the two non-Muslims were dragged outside after which the assailants opened fire at them at point-blank range and fled from the spot. Both were rushed to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Soura but were declared dead on arrival. Deepak Chand (38) was a member of the Kashmiri Pandit community who had migrated back to the valley from Jammu while Satinder Kaur (46) was a Sikh woman from Allochi Bagh Bund in uptown Srinagar.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh stated, “These recent incidents of targeting civilians are to create an atmosphere of fear, communal disharmony here. This is a conspiracy to target the local ethos & values and defame local Kashmiri Muslims. This is being done on instructions from agencies in Pakistan.” The Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the attack. According to their statement, “Shaheed Gazi Squad (of TRF) carried out today’s target attack in Srinagar.” It added that the duo were killed because the teachers had asked the children to attend the Independence Day celebration at the school this year.

Arbind Kumar Sah (30), a resident of the Banka area in Bihar, was killed by the terrorists outside a park at Eidgah in Srinagar on the evening of 16th October. He was the lone bread earner of his family. He was a street vendor and sold golgappas to earn enough money to improve the lives of his poverty-stricken family back home in Bihar. Witnesses reported that a terrorist with a pistol parked close to Sah’s vending cart and shot him in the head from point-blank range, killing him on the spot.

He was found lying in a pool of blood and taken to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital where doctors declared him dead. He was identified by his Aadhar card. His father informed that three months ago, he moved to Jammu and Kashmir in search of employment. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced Rs 2 Lakh ex-gratia from the Chief Minister’s relief fund for the next of kin of Arbind Kumar Sah.

Attacks on Hindus in 2019

A migrant labourer from Chhattisgarh was killed on 14th October by terrorists in the Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Sethi Kumar Sagar, a resident of the Bansula village in the Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh was a brick kiln worker at Oukhoo village in Pulwama. He was walking with another civilian when terrorists shot at him in the Nihama area near Kakpora railway station. Eyewitnesses unveiled that the terrorists were two in number. He was brought to a local health facility, where doctors declared him dead.

“He couldn’t sleep the whole night because he was unwell. As soon as he left from here, security personnel informed us that he had been killed. I am yet to believe that he is no more.” his mother Mehtireen cried. He left behind his spouse Seema and their six-month-old daughter.

Two days later, on 16th October, at around 7:30 pm, three or four terrorists struck Trenz in the Shopian area, targeting traders Charanjeet Singh Popli and his associate Sanjeev Charaya, both from Punjab. The former passed away after the two were taken to the district hospital in Pulwama. Sanjeev Charaya was shifted to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital Srinagar in a critical condition. Shopian Deputy Commissioner Yasin Choudhary noted, “Charanjeet was an old apple trader and was in Kashmir on work. He and his business associate were attacked in Trenz village, where they were staying with a local fruit grower.”

Charanjeet Singh Popli was survived by a wife and an 8-year-old son. He went to Shopian to help Sanjay Charaya in bringing back apple stock. His elder brother Ramesh Kumar, a tailor, stated, “Charanjeet went to Kashmir every year for about 40 days during the apple season with traders as a helper. He used to get the material picked from apple orchards and packed to be finally sent to Abohar. After the apple season, he worked at farms in Abohar again picking, packaging and loading. He was just hand to mouth.” Sanjay Charaya’s uncle informed, “Normally, we go in September but this time, because of restrictions we could not go and so my nephew and others went last week. Today, they were to finish work and start for Abohar tomorrow.”

A truck driver named Narayan Dutt, a resident of village Sera Kotla, near Kakrial in block Penthal of district Reasi was killed by terrorists in Anantnag on 28th October. The 45-year-old victim was fired upon by the terrorists in the evening in the Kanilwan area of Bijbehara in the south Kashmir district. He had gone to Kashmir to supply ration. He died on the spot and a senior police official, who was nearby, rushed to the spot and managed to save two other truck drivers who were in the vicinity.

His 15-year-old daughter Tanya Sharma broke down and stated, “Before going to Srinagar, my father told us that he would return home on Diwali but we received his dead body this morning as terrorists killed him for no fault.” He was the only support to his four children after they lost their mother a few years ago. His oldest son Atul Sharma was 17 years old, his youngest son Bansh Sharma was 7-years-old while his other daughter Sanya Sharma was just 13.

The terrorists who attacked Narayan Dutt were eliminated after an encounter with the cops. The terrorists were pursued by a police patrol unit that heard the gunshots and one of them was shot down in the ensuing altercation. He was later identified as one of the individuals who attacked the drivers by another truck driver who had escaped to save his life. The slain terrorist was among the squad of heavily armed gunmen who stopped two vehicles in the Bijbihara region of Anantnag one of which was from Haryana and the other from Jammu.

A grenade attack in the Lalchowk region of the city of Srinagar on 4th November afternoon resulted in at least one fatality and over 42 injuries, including nine women. The deceased man was identified as Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur resident Rinku Singh (40). “He was selling balloons and toys in the area,” stated Jammu and Kashmir Police Deputy Inspector General of Police (Central Kashmir Range) V K Birdi. The grenade was thrown into the bustling Gonikhan market, which is situated in the centre of the city and is frequented by both street merchants and customers.

Three security personnel were among the injured. They were sent to the adjacent Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, where two of them are listed as critical. Amidst the confusion caused by the explosion, the terrorists who hurled the grenade were able to abscond. The grenade was launched in the “street vendors’ area” and there were a lot of people there at that time” according to the Inspector-general of Police Central Reserve Police Force Srinagar sector Ravideep Singh Sahi.

A shopkeeper near the scene revealed, “There was a loud bang and people started running away from the area. Those injured were immediately taken to hospital.” Authorities stated, “Police had arrested a local terrorist two days back at Sopore who, too, was tasked to throw grenades in busy markets and petrol pumps. Return of normalcy and opening of shops is unnerving terrorists and their handlers in Pakistan.”

Nadimarg massacre of 2003

Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists identified, lined up and killed 24 Kashmiri Pandits including 11 men, 11 women and two children at Nadimarg village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district at about 10.30 pm on 23rd March 2003. Merely fifty-two Kashmiri Pandits, distributed among four extended families, resided in the village of Nadimarg after other Hindus had left the valley during the 1990 genocide and exodus of the minority community. The attackers, who included some young people from a nearby village and terrorists scouted Nadimarg on the 21st and 22nd of March, the days before the slaughter to determine the location of Kashmiri Pandits and then arrived with guns on that fateful night.

Kashmiri Pandits were brought to a courtyard, forced to kneel, and shot in the head. The assailants didn’t even spare toddlers. The terrorists were led by their self-styled ‘commander’ Zia Mustafa. He was arrested in 2003 and held in prison. He was taken out of jail by security forces to identify terrorist hideouts in a forest in Poonch in October 2021 and was killed in a crossfire during the subsequent encounter with the terrorists.

Three other Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists suspected to be responsible for the massacre were gunned down by Mumbai police on 29th March 2003 and another Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist who reportedly participated in the massacre was arrested in April 2003. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had also named seven people, including five policemen, as accused in the case. The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court in 2022 ordered the reopening of the Nadimarg massacre.

Attacks on Hindus in 1998

On 20th June 1998, terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed murdered twenty-five men who were attending weddings in the Doda area of Jammu and Kashmir. The incident happened while guests from two wedding parties were waiting for a bus to take them home after the ceremonies while sipping tea at a village market when five shooters arrived in a stolen vehicle and demanded money and jewellery from the victims at gunpoint. They then split up the men and started shooting. The two bridegrooms were among those killed.

The tragedy, which occurred in a distant rural area, was the third time in six months that terrorists targeted large gatherings of Hindus to kill them. Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Abid Hussain, the primary suspect in the massacre was neutralised in an encounter with the security forces and Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Atullah who was another suspect was arrested by the security forces in 2004.

23 Hindu civilians were shot and killed in January in a village north of Srinagar. The incident happened in a region of the Kashmir Valley that had more than 100,000 Hindu residents before the Pakistan-funded insurgency. Many of these people had left the area early on to go to locations in the southern part of the state including Jammu with a majority Hindu population.

A second incident happened in April in the Udhampur district in a secluded mountainous region where 29 Hindu villagers, including 13 women and children were slain. The April massacre created a furore that was exacerbated by the testimonies of survivors, who revealed that the gunmen had assaulted the villagers because they had ignored their commands to convert to Islam and demonstrate their faith by consuming beef.

Regular attacks on Amarnath Yatra

On 10th July 2017, terrorists opened fire on a bus with pilgrims returning from the Amarnath shrine, leaving seven dead and fifteen others wounded. The incident happened in the Anantnag district of South Kashmir. On 21st July 2006, terrorists assaulted a bus carrying pilgrims near the Beehama area of the Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of five pilgrims who were making their way back from the Amarnath Yatra base camp at Baltal. Terrorists had opened fire at the Nunwan base camp of the Amarnath Yatra in Pahalgam on 6th August 2002. Nine people including six pilgrims and three others were killed in the assault.

On 20th July 2001, terrorists threw grenades at a camp close to the Amarnath cave, killing 13 pilgrims and wounding 15 more. Two police officers also lost their lives in the attack. On 2nd August 2000, terrorists attacked the Pahalgam base camp, killing 32 persons, including 21 pilgrims and wounded sixty others. On 28th July 1998, terrorists assaulted a group of pilgrims heading to the Amarnath cave in the Sheshnag campground, killing twenty of them. On 15th August 1993, eight pilgrims were killed en route to the Amarnath cave.

Conclusion

The terrorists have been destroying lives in Jammu and Kashmir for decades. On 1st and 2nd August 2000 terrorists killed at least 105 people in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir within a few hours. They specifically targeted groups of Hindu men and ended their lives. No one was spared from migrant workers to village defence committee members. From migrant labourers to members of the village defence committee, none was spared. The terrorists also took away the weapons of the deceased and the injured persons.

Undoubtedly, both Muslims and Hindus have been targeted by terrorists; however, the notable distinction is that Muslims are targeted only if they are perceived as an instrument of the Indian government and a barrier to the goal of turning Kashmir into an Islamic state. They can easily avert their fate by disassociating from anyone or anything that the terrorists consider to be problematic but Hindus are denied this privilege and the only way for them to avoid death at the hands of jihadis is either by converting to Islam or leaving the valley.

The situation has undoubtedly improved since Article 370 was repealed, but the audacity of the terrorists hasn’t diminished yet and they appear to be much more driven to execute their heinous schemes. The unfortunate part is that the Pakistani-based terrorists who tried to install an Islamic state in Kashmir long before ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) came into existence are called ‘militants’ by the mainstream media. Similarly, rather than using Hindus or Kashmiri Pandits, their targets are called ‘minorities’ deceptively to further dilute and even gloss over the true nature of the problem in Kashmir.

The Kashmir Pandit genocide should have been sufficient to shake us from our slumber and motivate us to confront the real issue head-on rather than cowering behind euphemistic jargon to seem impartial while denying Hindus their right to live. Maybe we could have defeated, if not completely destroyed, the demon of jihad in Jammu and Kashmir if we had woken up to the real nature of the beast at the time.