The Sopore massacre refers to the mass killing of at least 43 civilians by

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 ...

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was formed in the wake of the Indo-Pak War of 196 ...

(BSF) who were travelling on a bus from

Bandipur Bandipur () is a hilltop settlement and a rural municipality in Tanahun District, Gandaki province of Nepal. Bandipur is primarily known for its preserved, old time cultural atmosphere. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of ...

Sopore Sopore ( ; ) is a city in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is north-west of Srinagar, and north-east of Baramulla. Sopore is one of the largest subdivisions in Jammu and Kashmir, consisting of seven tehsils an ...

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

on 6 January 1993. According to some reports as many as 57 people were killed.

Background

is a major town in

within the

Baramulla district Baramulla district (or Varmul, in Kashmiri) is one of the 20 districts in the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of ...

, located north-west from

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered 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 is supported by the tertiary ...

. On the morning of 6 January 1993, a group of 7–8 armed JKLF militants attacked a platoon of

soldiers at Baba Yousuf Lane near Sopore and killed at least one soldier.

Firing

On this bloody Wednesday, some shopkeepers were not allowed to come out and they were burned alive inside shops. In all, official

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

reports state that 250 shops and 50 homes were burned down although other sources claim as many as 450 buildings were burned down by the border security force. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' reported:

The Border Security Forces sprayed a public coach with machine-gun fire, killing the driver and more than 15 passengers, said witnesses. Three other cars were also fired on, and then the paramilitary forces set the vehicles ablaze. Next, they began herding the native Kashmiris into shops and houses, said witnesses. Then the security forces shot them, splashed paraffin over the bodies and set the buildings alight.

Response

The Indian government claimed that the high casualties were the result of an intense gun battle between the BSF soldiers and militants in which an explosives cache belonging to the militants exploded and spread the fire to nearby buildings. However, the government later initiated a judicial inquiry into the matter and suspended several BSF officers due to the publicity the incident had generated. The day after 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 ...

, thousands of Kashmiris, defying a government-imposed curfew, protested against the actions of the BSF soldiers on the streets of Sopore. Then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Narasimha Rao Narasimha Rao or Narasimharao is an Indian name. It may refer to: * P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004), ninth prime minister of India * Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao (1865–1940), Telugu writer * Vinjamuri Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao (1887–?), ...

ordered

State Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Girish Saxena to visit Sopore and announced a compensation of for the relatives of the deceased. However, Muslim leaders,

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

politicians and human rights organizations criticized Saxena for failing to stop human rights violations by the security forces in Kashmir and demanded a parliamentary delegation be sent to assess the destruction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sopore massacre, 1993 Indian war crimes in the Kashmir conflict 1993 murders in India January 1993 crimes January 1993 in India Massacres in 1993 1990s in Jammu and Kashmir Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir Massacre, 1993 Massacres committed by India Massacres of Muslims in India Massacres of Muslims in Kashmir Arson in Jammu and Kashmir Arson in 1993 1990s fires in Asia Attacks on shops in India Residential building arson attacks in India Arson attacks on buses Arson attacks on vehicles in India Arson deaths Attacks on buildings and structures in Jammu and Kashmir 1993 mass shootings in Asia Mass shootings in Jammu and Kashmir

Background

Firing

Response

See also

References