The Chittisinghpura massacre refers to the

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

of 35

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

villagers on 20 March 2000 in the village of Chittisinghpura (also spelled Chittisinghpora) in

Anantnag district Anantnag district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a m ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on the eve of the American president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's state visit to India. The Indian government asserts that the massacre was conducted by the Pakistan-based

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

group

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 19 ...

(LeT) or

Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahidin (, ), is a Pakistan-based Islamist separatist militant organisation that has been engaged in the Kashmir insurgency since 1989. It aims to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakist ...

. Though the perpetrators have not been apprehended or convicted and their identity remains debated.

Killings

Wearing Indian Army

fatigues Fatigues may refer to: Military * Combat uniform, also called military fatigues, a type of uniform especially in the military * The plain OG-107 uniform in the United States armed forces * Workwear worn by soldiers to avoid getting their unifor ...

, the unknown gunmen arrived into the village in military vehicles in two groups at opposite ends of the village where the two

gurdwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

s were located. The militants marched from home to home, introducing themselves as Indian Army personnel and ordered every male member of the household come out for security checks. They ordered them to line up in front of the gurdwaras and opened fire, killing thirty-five Sikhs and shouted pro-India slogans after the massacre.

Aftermath

The massacre was a turning point in the Kashmir issue, where Sikhs had usually been spared from militant violence. Shortly after the massacre, hundreds of Kashmiri Sikhs gathered in

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

, shouting anti Pakistan and anti Muslim slogans, criticising the Indian government for failing to protect the villagers, and demanding retaliation. Following the killing, Syeed Salahudeen, Pakistan-based leader of the largest Kashmiri militant group Hizbul-Mujahideen, denounced the massacre, accusing India of it, and assured the Kashmiri Sikh community of the militants' support.

Investigations

In 2000, Indian authorities announced that Mohammad Suhail Malik, a nephew of Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (born 5 June 1950) is a Pakistani militant and religious preacher convicted of terrorism. He co-founded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based Islamist militant organization that is List of designated terrorist groups, de ...

, confessed while in Indian custody to participating in the attacks at the direction of Lashkar-e-Taiba. He repeated the claim in an interview with

Barry Bearak Barry Leon Bearak (born August 31, 1949, in Chicago) is an American journalist and educator who has worked as a reporter and correspondent for '' The Miami Herald'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', and ''The New York Times''. He taught journalism as ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' while still in Indian custody. Villagers also told Bearak that militants had visited the place weeks prior and had mingled with them, which they now saw as reconnaissance for the massacre. Widows also claimed to recognized the voices of the attackers. According to Indian journalist

Praveen Swami Praveen Swami (born 1969) is an Indian journalist and author specialising on international strategic and security issues. He is currently the National Security Editor at ThePrint. He was the Diplomatic Editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspape ...

, "Few people in the village believe stories claiming that the assailants were Indian Army soldiers." In 2005, Sikh organizations headed by the Bhai Kanahiya Jee Nishkam Seva Society demanded a deeper state inquiry into the details of the massacreSikhs want CBI probe into Chittisinghpura Massacre
, ''Tribune India''. 11 November 2005. Accessed on 20 October 2021. and for the inquiry to be made public. The state government ordered an inquiry into the massacre. In an introduction to a book written by

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

titled ''The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs'' (2006),

accused "Hindu militants" of perpetrating the act."Clinton goofs up on J&K killings"
, ''The Times of India''. Clinton's office did not return calls seeking comment or clarification. The publishers,

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, later acknowledged "a failure in the fact-checking process" but did not offer a retraction. In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba associate

David Headley David Coleman Headley (born Dawood Sayed Gilani; June 30, 1960) is a Pakistani-American Islamic terrorist and the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai islamic terrorist attacks. He played a key role in orchestrating the attacks, working with the ...

, who was arrested in connection with the

2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks, also referred to as 26/11 attacks, were a series of coordinated Islamic terrorism, Islamist terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist o ...

, reportedly told the

National Investigation Agency The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the principal counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India. Established under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, it is tasked with investigating and combating offenses related to terroris ...

that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre. He is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton's visit. In 2011, a Delhi court cleared Malik of the charges citing insufficient evidence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chittisinghpura massacre, 2000 20th-century mass murder in India Mass murder in 2000 Terrorist incidents in India in 2000 2000 murders in India 2000 mass shootings in Asia Mass shootings in Jammu and Kashmir Unsolved murders in India Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir Massacres of Sikhs March 2000 in India Violence against men in Asia Massacres in 2000 Unsolved mass murders Anantnag district March 2000 crimes in Asia Terrorist incidents by unknown perpetrators Presidency of Bill Clinton Vajpayee administration Terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir Lashkar-e-Taiba attacks

Killings

Aftermath

Investigations

See also

References