2000 Chittisinghpura massacre explained

Chittisinghpura massacre
Location:Chittisinghpora, Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Target:Sikhs
Date:20 March 2000
Type:Mass murder
Fatalities:35
Perps:Undetermined[1] [2]

The Chittisinghpura massacre refers to the mass murder of 35 Sikh villagers on 20 March 2000 in the Chittisinghpora (Chittisinghpura) village of Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir, India on the eve of the American president Bill Clinton's state visit to India.[3] [4] [5]

The identity of the perpetrators remains unknown. The Indian government asserts that the massacre was conducted by Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).[6] [7] Other accounts accuse the Indian Army of the massacre.[8] [9] [10] [11]

Killings

Wearing Indian Army fatigues, the killers arrived into the village in military vehicles in two groups at opposite ends of the village where the two gurdwaras were located, the unknown gunmen marched home to home by introducing themselves as Indian Army personnel and ordered the every male member of the household come out for security checks.[12] They ordered them to line up in front of the gurdwaras and opened fire, killing thirty-five Sikhs.[13]

Aftermath

The massacre was a turning point in the Kashmir issue, where Sikhs had usually been spared from militant violence.[14]

Shortly after the massacre, hundreds of Kashmiri Sikhs gathered in Jammu, shouting anti Pakistan and anti Muslim slogans, criticising the Indian government for failing to protect the villagers, and demanding retaliation.[15] [16]

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.

Perpetrators

Survivors interviewed by journalists insisted that the perpetrators had looked and spoken "like people from South India" and had shouted pro-India slogans after the massacre. According to Lt-General KS Gill, "[Indian] army officers up to the rank of a captain were involved in the 'fake encounter'. They kept visiting Chhatisinghpura for routine 'checkups'. After obtaining full information about the Sikh, they lined them up and shot them dead one day."[17]

In 2000, Indian authorities announced that Mohammad Suhail Malik, a nephew of Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, 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 of The New York Times while still in Indian custody, although Bearak questioned the authenticity of the confession. In 2011, a Delhi court cleared Malik of the charges.[18]

In an introduction to a book written by Madeleine Albright titled The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (2006), Hillary Clinton accused "Hindu militants" of perpetrating the act,[19] which evoked outrage of some Hindu and Sikh groups. Clinton's office did not return calls seeking comment or clarification. The publishers, HarperCollins, later acknowledged "a failure in the fact-checking process" but did not offer a retraction.

In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba associate David Headley, who was arrested in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks, reportedly told the National Investigation Agency that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre.[20] 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.[21]

In 2005, Sikh organizations headed by the Bhai Kanahiya Jee Nishkam Seva Society demanded a deeper state inquiry into the details of the massacre[22] and for the inquiry to be made public. The state government ordered an inquiry into the massacre.

See also

List of terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir

References

  1. Web site: 21 years after Chittisinghpura killings, kin of slain Sikhs look for answers. . 21 March 2021.
  2. Web site: Kashmiri Sikhs demand re-investigation into Chattisinghpora massacre. Deccan Chronicle. 19 March 2016. 26 September 2021. 26 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210926200830/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/190316/kashmiri-sikhs-demand-re-investigation-into-massacre-of-35-men-at-chattisinghpora.html. live.
  3. Web site: Kashmir killings overshadow Clinton visit. 21 March 2000. BBC News. 4 March 2020. 28 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200128015132/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/684632.stm. live.
  4. Web site: Popham. Peter. 22 March 2000. Massacre of 36 Sikhs overshadows Clinton's tour. 4 March 2020. The Independent.
  5. Web site: The massacre at Chattisinghpora. Swami. Praveen. 1 April 2000. Frontline. 4 March 2020. 7 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210307131649/https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30253665.ece. live.
  6. Web site: Harding. Luke. 22 March 2000. Killing of Sikhs clouds Clinton visit to India. live. 20 October 2021. The Guardian. https://web.archive.org/web/20130824054708/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/mar/22/india.kashmir . 24 August 2013.
  7. Web site: 25 October 2010. Lashkar behind Sikh massacre in Kashmir in 2000, says Headley. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110114013820/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx. 14 January 2011. 20 March 2020. Hindustan Times.
  8. Web site: Bhat. Saima. 26 March 2012. The lone survivor: Nanak Singh. live. 29 October 2019. Kashmir Life. https://web.archive.org/web/20170324235427/http://www.kashmirlife.net:80/the-lone-survivor-nanak-singh-2237/ . 24 March 2017.
  9. Web site: Bhat. Aamir Ali. 21 March 2019. 'Names of killers still reverberate in my ears': 19 years after Chittisinghpora massacre, lone survivor recounts night that killed 35 Sikhs. dead. 29 October 2019. Firstpost. https://web.archive.org/web/20190321032519/https://www.firstpost.com/india/names-of-killers-still-reverberate-in-my-ears-19-years-after-chittisinghpora-massacre-lone-survivor-recounts-night-that-killed-35-sikhs-6299441.html . 21 March 2019.
  10. News: 24 August 2010. Rift in the valley. The Economist. subscription. 29 October 2019. 0013-0613. 29 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191029064734/https://www.economist.com/banyan/2010/08/24/rift-in-the-valley. live.
  11. Web site: Singh. Gurpreet. 19 March 2018. India Owes Answers For The Killings Of 36 Sikhs And 14 Others In Kashmir. live. 20 March 2020. Countercurrents. https://web.archive.org/web/20190701152436/https://countercurrents.org/2018/03/india-owes-answers-for-the-killings-of-36-sikhs-and-14-others-in-kashmir . 1 July 2019.
  12. Web site: Chittisinghpora Massacre: When shadowy gunners in army fatigues widowed 30 Sikh women. 27 August 2020. Free Press Kashmir.
  13. Web site: 'Names of killers still reverberate in my ears': 19 years after Chittisinghpora massacre, lone survivor recounts night that killed 35 Sikhs. Firstpost. 29 October 2019. 21 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190321032519/https://www.firstpost.com/india/names-of-killers-still-reverberate-in-my-ears-19-years-after-chittisinghpora-massacre-lone-survivor-recounts-night-that-killed-35-sikhs-6299441.html. live.
  14. News: Dugger. Celia W.. 21 March 2000. 34 Massacred In Sikh Town In Kashmir. The New York Times. subscription. 20 October 2021. 0362-4331. 20 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211020140052/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/21/world/34-massacred-in-sikh-town-in-kashmir.html. live.
  15. News: Jameel. Yusuf. 3 April 2000. Slaughter in Singhpora: A Village Becomes Kashmir's Latest Victim. Time Asia. 20 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20010127162800/http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/2000/0403/india.singhpora.html. 27 January 2001.
  16. Web site: 16 August 2013. AP. Man arrested in connection with Sikh massacre. live. 20 October 2021. The Independent. https://web.archive.org/web/20191029065324/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/man-arrested-in-connection-with-sikh-massacre-282450.html . 29 October 2019.
  17. Web site: Jaaved . Amjed . 25 March 2021 . Chhattisgarh massacre : will the Sikh ever see justice? . 29 June 2021 . www.globalvillagespace.com . Global Village Space . According to Lt-General (Retd.) KS Gill, army officers up to the rank of a captain were involved in the "fake encounter". They kept visiting Chhatisinghpura for routine "checkups". After obtaining full information about the Sikh, they lined them up and shot them dead one day. . 25 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210325062245/https://www.globalvillagespace.com/chhattisgarh-massacre-will-the-sikh-ever-see-justice/ . live .
  18. News: 10 August 2011. Sikhs' massacre in Chattisinghpora: Two Pakistanis acquitted. The Times of India. PTI. 20 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20121106033915/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-10/india/29871318_1_pakistani-nationals-massacre-sikhs. 6 November 2012.
  19. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA2LzA1LzE5I0FyMDE0MDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom "Clinton goofs up on J&K killings"
  20. Web site: 25 October 2010. Lashkar behind Sikh massacre in Kashmir in 2000, says Headley. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110114013820/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx. 14 January 2011. 20 March 2020. Hindustan Times.
  21. Jupinderjit Singh (25 October 2010). Chittisinghpura Massacre: Obama's proposed visit makes survivors recall tragedy . The Tribune, Chandigarh. Accessed on 20 October 2021.
  22. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20051112/j&k.htm#3 Sikhs want CBI probe into Chittisinghpura Massacre

See also

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