The Goreswar massacre was the

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valle ...

in Goreswar, in the

Kamrup district Kamrup Rural district, or simply Kamrup district (Pron: ˈkæmˌrəp or ˈkæmˌru:p), is an administrative districts of Assam, district in the state of Assam in India formed by dividing the Undivided Kamrup district, old Kamrup district into t ...

(now

Baksa district Baksa district ( or ) is an administrative district in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, one of the North-Eastern states of India. The administrative headquarters is at Mushalpur. Manas National Park is a part of this district. Etymo ...

) of the Indian state of Assam. The massacre was part of a pre-planned

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

, organized in a meeting of the local Teachers' Association.

Background

During and after the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

movement,

were ethnically cleansed in the Indian state of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. After the partition riots, the next major ethnic conflagration in Assam occurred during the

Bengali language movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

in 1960. The

Government of Assam The Government of Assam or Assam Government abbreviated as GoAS, is the Subnational legislature, state government of the Indian state of Assam. It consists of the Governors of states of India, Governor appointed by the President of India as th ...

decided to make Assamese the only official language in the state.

Bengali people Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divided between the sovereign country Bangl ...

protested against this decision as it would affect their employment prospects. The Barak Valley was a Bengali dominated area and became a centre of agitation. This in turn resulted in a spate of police shootings. In the Brahmaputra Valley, an Assamese-dominated area, Assamese mobs started attacking Bengalis.

Pogrom

Planning

A report claims that there was a secret meeting in early July 1960, at a school in

Sibsagar {{Infobox settlement , name = Sivasagar , settlement_type = Metropolis , image_skyline = Sivasagar.jpg , image_alt = {{multiple image , border = infobox , total_width = 270 , image_style ...

. This was said to have been organized by the Teachers' Association. During the meeting, the massacre was planned as an attack on the

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

. The next day a students' strike was organised at Sibsagar and groups of students and youths were sent to

Jorhat Jorhat ( /) is a major city in Upper Assam division, Upper Assam and among the fastest growing urban centres in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and ...

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh () is a city in the Indian state of Assam, located 435 kms east of the state capital Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of the Dibrugarh district in Upper Assam. Dibrugarh also serves as the headquarters of the Sonowal Kach ...

and other adjoining areas to communicate the decision of the meeting.

Massacre

On 14 July 1960, riots began in Sibsagar with the looting of Bengali shops and assaults on several Bengalis. In lower Assam ( Kamrup, Nowgong and

Goalpara Goalpara ) is a city and the district headquarters of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated to the west of Guwahati. Etymology The name Goalpara is said to have originated from the word "Gwaltippika" meaning Guwali village, or "the ...

) intense violence occurred in 25 villages in Goreswar (in

). On 3 July an Assamese mob of 15,000, armed with guns and other weapons, raided Bengali shops and houses. The whole area was ransacked. According to an inquiry commissioned under Justice Gopalji Mahotra, 4,019 huts and 58 houses were vandalized or destroyed. The commission reported that at least nine

were killed and more were wounded or crippled. There is also a report that one woman was attacked and raped. Nearly 1,000 Bengali Hindus fled from the area during the riot.

Aftermath

The worst phase of violence occurred between July and September 1960. Nearly 50,000

had crossed over to

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

to seek shelter by late August 1960. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. B. C. Roy wrote a letter to the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

about the violence. According to his letter, at least 4,000 Bengali Hindus had been displaced to West Bengal between 5 and 11 July as a result of the riots, and 447 others who may not have been fleeing the riot. After 31 July the flow of refugees increased. In a subsequent letter, Roy wrote that 45,000 displaced Bengalis had taken shelter in West Bengal.

References