List of bus killings during Punjab insurgency explained

See also: List of terrorist incidents in Punjab, India.

There were multiple incidents of killing of bus passengers during the Insurgency in Punjab, India, which was an armed campaign by the pro-Khalistan militants from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.[1] Major incidents included the Lalru massacre of 38 Hindu bus passengers on 6 July 1987, by the Khalistan Commando Force militants near Lalru, Punjab, India.;[2] and Fatehabad bus killings on 7 July 1987, in which 34 Hindus on two buses were killed.[3] [2] [4]

This is a list of bus passenger killings during the Insurgency in Punjab, India in the 1980s and 1990s (also includes rail passenger killings).

Incidents involving shootings by militants

DatePlaceIncident
September-5 October 1983Dhilwan, Kapurthala districtSix Hindu passengers were shot dead by two pro-Khalistan Sikh militants,[5] [6] who hijacked a bus going from Dhilwan to Jalandhar in Punjab, and opened fire on Hindu passengers.[7] [8] This bus massacre triggered the President's rule in Punjab as by this time, more than 175 people had been killed in militancy-related violence.[9]
18 Nov 1983Kapurthala districtNine armed men killed four Hindu bus passengers in Kapurthala district, Punjab, which had earlier witnessed another bus massacre in October by Sikh militants, and in both cases, the hijacked bus was abandoned at Chitiwind village on the outskirts of Amritsar.[10]
23 Feb 1984Punjab, India11 Hindus killed by Sikh militants, including incidents in trains and busses.[11]
21 May 1984Moga4 Hindu travelers were killed, and 10 others were wounded near Moga, about 175 miles northwest of New Delhi after six Sikh gunmen hijacked a bus and fired at its Hindu occupants.[12]
12 September 1984Batala8 bus passengers killed.[13] [14]
25 July 1986Mukatsar15 bus passengers gunned down by suspected Sikh militants.[15]
30 November 1986Khudda24 Hindu bus passengers gunned down.[16]
6 July 1987Near LalruKhalistan Commando Force militants hijacked a Haryana Roadways bus and killed 38 Hindu bus passengers.
7 July 1987Near FatehabadSikh militants kill 34 Hindu bus passengers from two Haryana Roadways buses near Fatehabad
15 June 1991Ludhiana district1991 Punjab killings
110 passengers killed by Sikh militants.[17]

Incidents involving Punjab Police

DatePlaceIncident
11 September 1982Tarn Taran32 Sikh activists and two police guards were killed and 21 others injured when a speeding train slammed into a bus with the newly arrested Sikh political activists, who had courted arrest as part of Dharam Yudh Morcha.[21] [22] Multiple Sikh leaders accused this of being a deliberate incident by the police to kill Sikhs who courted arrest.[23] [24]
July 1992Uttar Pradesh10 Sikhs were pulled off of a bus by police and killed in fake encounters while heading to Gurdaspur from Hazur Sahib.[25] [26]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ray . Jayanta Kumar . Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World . 2007 . Pearson Education India . 978-8131708347 . 484 . 23 July 2018 . 30 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330072148/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyk6oA2nOlgC&q=khalistan . live .
  2. Tavleen Singh . Sreekant Khandekar . Terrorists kill bus passengers in Punjab and Haryana mercilessly . India Today . 1987-07-31 . 2023-01-17 .
  3. News: Dilip Ganguly . Sikhs Kill 34 Hindus on Two Buses, Bringing Two-Day Toll To 72 . AP . 1987-07-07 . 2023-01-17 .
  4. News: Richard M. Weintraub . Gunmen kill 38 passengers on crowded bus in India . 1987-07-07 . 2023-01-17 . Washington Post .
  5. Book: Martin, Gus . The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition . 2011-06-15 . SAGE Publications . 978-1-4522-6638-1 . 544 . en . In October 1983, six Hindu bus passengers were slaughtered by Sikh militants.
  6. Book: Hardgrave, Robert L. . India Under Pressure: Prospects For Political Stability . 1984 . Routledge . 978-0-429-71661-4 . en.
  7. News: Sikhs execute six hindus on hijacked bus. 6 October 1983. "Two Sikh extremists hijacked a New Delhi-bound bus in northern Punjab state Wednesday night and opened fire on Hindu passengers with a machine gun, killing six". The Washington Post.
  8. News: Indian government orders crackdown on terrorism . 59 . Lakeland Ledger.
  9. News: Indian Government takes over a state swept by religious strife. 7 October 1983. 22 November 2014. "Late Wednesday six Hindu passengers were hauled off a bus and gunned down. In the other incident, a police subinspector and a tax inspector were killed aboard a train. In all more than 175 people have died in the Punjab disturbances.".
  10. News: Shekhar Gupta . Brutal slaying of four Hindu bus travelers takes tension in Punjab to a new high . India Today . 1983-12-15 . 2022-01-17 .
  11. News: 11 HINDUS KILLED IN PUNJAB UNREST, WILLIAM K. STEVENS, The New York Times, Feb 23, 1984. The New York Times. 23 February 1984. 22 November 2014. Stevens. William K..
  12. News: Sikh Terrorists Kill 13 In Northern India State . The New York Times. 23 May 1984.
  13. Web site: India/Punjab (1947-present). 1 January 2009. uca.edu.
  14. Book: Carol Christine Fair . Lessons from India's Experience in the Punjab, 1978-1993 . 2009 . Routledge . 9780203879207 . 108. 11 November 2023 .
  15. Web site: Suspected sikh terrorists kill 15 on bus. Los Angeles Times. 26 July 1986 .
  16. Web site: Sikh extremists hijack Punjab bus and kill 24. 30 November 1986. NeyYork Times.
  17. News: Sikhs storm 2 trains, KIll 110 in Punjab. Los Angeles Times. 16 June 1991 .
  18. Web site: Hindu youths attacked Sikhs and torched Sikh-owned property in... . 2023-11-12 . UPI . en.
  19. News: 1985 transistor blast case stuck for 20-yrs. Times of india . 21 Nov 2005 .
  20. News: India siezes 1500 as deaths mount. The New York Times . 12 May 1985.
  21. Web site: A speeding train slammed into a bus packed with.. 2023-11-11 . UPI.com . 1982-09-12 . en.
  22. Web site: Timeline of incidents in Punjab (Jan to Dec 1982) KEM . 2023-11-11 . Khalistan Extremism Monitor . en.
  23. Book: Gill, Kanwar Pal Singh . Punjab, the Knights of Falsehood . 1997 . Har-Anand Publications . 978-81-241-0569-6 . 73 . en.
  24. Book: Dhillon, Gurdarshan Singh . India Commits Suicide . 1992 . Singh & Singh Publishers . 182 . en.
  25. Web site: 2016-04-05 . Pilibhit fake encounter: 'Will seek death penalty for guilty cops' . 2023-11-11 . Hindustan Times . en.
  26. Book: Jaijee, Inderjit Singh . Politics of Genocide: Punjab, 1984-1998 . 1999 . Ajanta Publications . 978-81-202-0415-7 . 176 . en.