The 1998 Chapnari massacre was a massacre of 25

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

villagers in Chapnari (also called Champanari by some sources) village in Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir on 19 June 1998, by terrorists belonging to

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Background

In 1990, 500,000 to 600,000 Kashmiri Hindus left Kashmir after being selectively targeted by the militants.

The attack

The victims were accompanying two marriage parties when they were attacked. Police sources said that five members were spared. Among those who survived Chapnari were the three primary school teachers and the bride.

Aftermath

Chief minister Farooq Abdullah strongly condemned the attack and described it as "yet another barbaric act of Pakistan-sponsored militants in Jammu and Kashmir". India's Home Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, who had recently assumed overall control of Indian policy in the state, described the killing of the wedding guests as "a clear attempt at

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...

" and said that responsibility for the attack, and the other massacres of Hindus, rested with

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. In September 1998, Abid Hussain of

, who was the main suspect in the massacre, was killed in an encounter by Indian security forces. Another suspect, Attullah of Hizbul Mujahideen, was arrested in June 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapnari Massacre Doda district Massacres in 1998 1990s in Jammu and Kashmir Religiously motivated violence in India Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir June 1998 events in Asia Islamic terrorism in India Islamic terrorist incidents in 1998 Chenab Valley Massacres of Hindus in Kashmir