1947–1948 Rajouri massacre
1947–1948 Rajouri massacre | |
---|---|
Date | 7 November 1947–12 April 1948 |
Location | 33°23′N 74°19′E / 33.38°N 74.31°ECoordinates: 33°23′N 74°19′E / 33.38°N 74.31°E |
Goals | Retributive genocide[1] |
Methods | Rioting, pogrom, arson, enslavement, forced conversions, looting[2] |
Casualties | |
Death(s) | 30,000+ Hindus/Sikhs |
Rajouri Location within Jammu and Kashmir |
The 1947–1948 Rajouri Massacres were the killing of thousands of residents and refugees in the Rajouri tehsil in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, by the Azad Kashmir Forces and Pashtun tribal militia during the First Kashmir War.[3][4] The 'siege' of the town of Rajouri began on 7 November 1947 and ended on the 12 April 1948 when the Indian Army recaptured it. The massacre is commemorated annually in Rajouri and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.[4][5]
Background[]
At the time of the Partition of India in 1947, princely states were left with the options of joining India or Pakistan or remaining independent. Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, preferred to remain independent. All major political groups of the state supported the Maharaja's decision, except for the Muslim Conference, which declared in favour of accession to Pakistan on 19 July 1947.[6] The Muslim Conference was popular in the Jammu province of the state. It was closely allied with the All-India Muslim League, which was set to inherit Pakistan.
On 6 October, the Poonch Rebellion officially began.[7][8] The Jammu and Kashmir State Forces, which were distributed in penny pockets along the border, were ordered to consolidate in towns in garrisons.[9] On 14 October, the Jammu violence began against the region's Muslims. War officially broke out in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 October, with a tribal invasion from Pakistan via Muzaffarabad and Baramulla. Looting and killing were widespread.[10][11]
Rajouri and Poonch witnessed a mass influx of Hindu and Sikh refugees from the west trying to escape the raiders. Rajouri's population swelled from 5,000 to over 40,000. Poonch experienced an increase from 10,000 to almost 50,000 people.[12]
Events[]
On 26-27 October, the Maharaja acceded to India, requesting armed assistance. India airlifted troops to defend the Kashmir Valley. However, it was not until 13 November, when the raiders were cleared off Uri, that the Indian troops could pay attention to the situation in the Jammu Division.[13] Until then the State Forces had to fend for themselves. The forces lacked artillery (which had been transferred to the British Indian Army for World War II) and they were also short of ammunition (which had not been replenished since the departure of British on 15 August).[9]
Rajauri was recaptured on 12 April 1948 by the 19 Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army under the command of Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane. Rane, despite being wounded, launched a bold tank assault by conveying the tanks over the Tawi river bed in order to avoid the road blocks along the main road.[14] When the Indian Army entered the town, the captors had fled, having destroyed most of the town and killing the majority of its inhabitants.[15][16]
Aftermath[]
After recapturing Rajouri and the arrival of the Indian Army, some 1,500 refugees that had fled to the hills, including women and children, returned to the town.[17] The capture of Rajouri and the Rajouri Massacre was followed by the capture of Mirpur by Pakistani backed tribals and the subsequent Mirpur Massacre of Hindus and Sikhs.
The ceasefire line at the end of the war ran to the west of Rajouri district.
April 13 every year is now celebrated as Vijay Diwas in Rajouri.[18]
See also[]
- Persecution of Hindus
- Persecution of Sikhs
- 1947 Mirpur Massacre
- 1947 Jammu massacres
- Partition of India
References[]
- ^ Bhatia, Rethinking Conflict at the Margins (2020), p. 82: Quoting Amar Nath Saraf: "I remember hearing on Pakistan radio that these killings [in Jammu] would be avenged — in Mirpur, Rajouri, Kotli, Mendhar....
- ^ Bloeria, Sudhir (15 October 2020). "Militancy in Rajouri and Poonch". satp.org. South Asian Terrorism Portal. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ Bhatia, Rethinking Conflict at the Margins (2020), pp. 80–81: "During this time, the town of Rajouri was captured by what was known as 'Azad Kashmir forces' (comprised of armed rebels from Poonch and a section of Pakistani officials sympathetic to these rebels) as well as the Pathan tribesmen."
- ^ Jump up to: a b Tearful homage to martyrs of 1947 massacre in Rajouri, Daily Excelsior, 12 November 2017.
- ^ Maini, K.D. (12 April 2015). "The day Rajouri was recaptured". dailyexcelsior.com. Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ Puri, Balraj (November 2010), "The Question of Accession", Epilogue, 4 (11): 4–6,
Eventually they agreed on a modified resolution which 'respectfully and fervently appealed to the Maharaja Bahadur to declare internal autonomy of the State... and accede to the Dominion of Pakistan... However, the General Council did not challenge the maharaja's right to take a decision on accession, and it acknowledged that his rights should be protected even after acceding to Pakistan.
- ^ ul-Hassan, Syed Minhaj (2015), "Qaiyum Khan and the War of Kashmir, 1947-48 AD." (PDF), FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 9 (1): 1–7, archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2017, retrieved 8 March 2017
- ^ Ganguly, Sumit (September 1995), "Wars without End: The Indo-Pakistani Conflict", The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Sage Publications, 541: 167–178, doi:10.1177/0002716295541001012, JSTOR 1048283, S2CID 144787951
- ^ Jump up to: a b Brahma Singh, History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (2010), p. 220.
- ^ Tom Cooper, I Indo-Pakistani War, 1947–1949 Archived 2 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Air Combat Information Group, 29 October 2003
- ^ Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Operations in Jammu and Kashmir 1947–1948. (1987). Thomson Press (India) Limited, New Delhi. This is the Indian Official History.
- ^ Bloeria, Sudhir (15 October 2020). "Militancy in Rajouri and Poonch". satp.org. South Asian Terrorism Portal. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ Cheema, Crimson Chinar (2015), p. 77.
- ^ Rama Raghoba Rane received a Param Vir Chakra for his gallantry.
- ^ Cohen, Lt.-Col. Maurice (1994), Thunder Over Kashmir, Orient Blackswan, p. 36, ISBN 978-81-250-0016-7
- ^ Gopal, S., ed. (1987), Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, Volume 6, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund/Oxford University Press, pp. 156–157 (Cable to N. Gopalaswami Ayyengar, item 4 and editor's footnote 4
- ^ Sarkar, Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army 2016, pp. 37–40.
- ^ Maini, K.D. (12 April 2015). "The day Rajouri was recaptured". dailyexcelsior.com. Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
Bibliography[]
- Ankit, Rakesh (May 2010). "Henry Scott: The forgotten soldier of Kashmir". Epilogue. 4 (5): 44–49. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- Bhatia, Mohita (2020), Rethinking Conflict at the Margins: Dalits and Borderland Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir: Going Beyond the Dominant Discourse, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-108-83602-9
- Cheema, Brig Amar (2015), The Crimson Chinar: The Kashmir Conflict: A Politico Military Perspective, Lancer Publishers, ISBN 978-81-7062-301-4
- Das Gupta, Jyoti Bhusan (2012) [first published 1968]. Jammu and Kashmir. Springer. ISBN 978-94-011-9231-6.
- Palit, D. K. (1972), Jammu and Kashmir Arms: History of the J & K Rifles, Palit & Dutt
- Raghavan, Srinath (2010), War and Peace in Modern India: A Strategic History of the Nehru Years, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-1-137-00737-7
- Ramachandran, D. P. (2008). Empire's First Soldiers. Lancer Publishers. p. 171. ISBN 9780979617478.
- Sarkar, Col. Bhaskar (2016). Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army, 1947-1971. Lancer Publishers. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-1-897829-73-8.
- Singh, K. Brahma (1990), History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, 1820-1956: The State Force Background, Lancer International, ISBN 978-81-7062-091-4
- Singh, K. Brahma (2010) [first published Lancer International 1990], History of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, 1820-1956: The State Force Background (PDF), brahmasingh.co.nf, ISBN 978-81-7062-091-4, archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016
- Singh, V. K. (23 March 2005). Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers. SAGE Publications. p. 160. ISBN 9780761933229.
- Snedden, Christopher (2013) [first published as The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir, 2012]. Kashmir: The Unwritten History. HarperCollins India. ISBN 978-9350298985.
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