The 2000 Amarnath pilgrimage attack on 1-2 August was the

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

of at least 89 people (official count) to 105 (as reported by PTI) and injury to at least 62 people, in at least five different coordinated attacks by Islamist militants in

Anantnag district Anantnag district is a district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of ten districts which make up the Kashmir Valley. The district headquarters is Anantnag city. As of 2011, it was the third most populous district ...

and

Doda district Doda is a district in the eastern part of Jammu Division in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The district consists of 18 tehsils viz. Thathri, Bhaderwah, Doda, Mohalla, Bhagwa, Assar, Bhalla, Gundna, Marmat, Kahara, Ga ...

Indian administered Kashmir Kashmir () is the 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 Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. Out of these, 32 were killed on 2 August in 2000, Amarnath yatra massacre at Nunwan base camp in

Pahalgam Pahalgam (), known as Pahalgom (; in Kashmiri) is a town and a notified area committee, near Anantnag city in the Anantnag district of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular tourist destination and hi ...

. Dead included 21 Hindu pilgrims, 7 local Muslim shopkeepers and 3 security officers, and 7 more people were also injured.

Details

Total up to 105 or more killed and at least 62 injured, in five separate coordinated terror attacks, include the following partial count on the morning of 3 August 2000. * At least 32 people and 60 more injured, who were mostly unarmed civilians persons. 21 were Hindu pilgrims, seven Muslims shopkeepers and porters, and 3 security officials. The pilgrims were on their way to Amarnath cave shrine on annual pilgrimage. Many of those killed were local

Bakarwal The Bakarwal (also Bakkarwal, Bakharwal, Bakrawala and Bakerwal) are a nomadic ethnic group, who along with Gujjars are listed as Scheduled Tribes in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1991.https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/CLM/CLM_1/17. ...

gurjar Muslim men and porters hiring their horses and services to ferry the pilgrims to the site. Subsequently, then Prime Minister of India

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

visited

and blamed

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'') ...

for the killings. * At least 27 civilian migrant labourers from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, were killed in similar simultaneous terror attacks in Mirbazar-Qazigund and Sandoo-Acchabal in Anantnag district. * At least 11 unarmed civilian people were killed in a pre-dawn terrorist attack in a remote village in Doda district. * At least 7 unarmed civilian were killed when around the same time as Doda attack, another group of terrorists simultaneously attacked another remote village in Kupwara to seven Muslim members of a family of a surrendered former militant. * At least 8 unarmed civilian were killed and 2 more injured in an ambush by terrorists on a group of Village Defence Committee patrol party members of Kayar village of Doda district.

Aftermath

Then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

blamed Pakistan for being determined to sabotage democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.

References

External links

*
Amarnath: Journey to the shrine of a Hindu god
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' news story in pictures, 13 July 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Amarnath Pilgrimage Massacre 20th-century mass murder in India Islamic terrorism in India Massacres in 2000 Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir 2000s in Jammu and Kashmir Violence against Hindus in India 2000 in India Terrorist incidents in India in 2000 Massacres in India August 2000 events in Asia

Details

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

External links