2001 Kot Charwal massacre was the killing of 15 ethnic-

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.p ...

s by

Islamic militants ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term t ...

in the village of Chalwalkote, in the

Rajouri district Rajouri (or Rajauri) is a district of Jammu region in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Line of Control lies to its west, Poonch to its north, the Reasi district to the east and the Jammu district to its south. Rajouri is f ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

, India on 9 February 2001.

Background

A violent

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...

has been going on in

since 1989. The militants had intermittently massacred villagers who did not support their cause. The state government had supplied arms to the villagers who had formed

Village Defence Committees Village Defence Guards (VDGs) formerly known as Village Defence Committees is a civilian militia first established in the mid-1990s in the Chenab Valley area of Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the self-defence of locals, es ...

(VDC) so that they could protect themselves from the militants. The militants suspected the villagers to be informants for Indian Army.

The attack

The militants came at night and initially asked the villagers to hand over the female members of the village for satisfying their sexual urges. When the villagers resisted this they were attacked.15 members of 3 nomad families massacred
''

Daily Excelsior The ''Daily Excelsior'' is an English-language newspaper published in Jammu, a city in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It was established by S. D. Rohmetra. The newspaper has been in publication since 1 January 1965. Its cu ...

'', (11 February 2001). Retrieved 24 March 2009.
Archived
14 May 2009. The terrorists came then bolted the house of Abdullah Remo and Bashir Abdullah. Then they lobbed a grenade inside before setting the house on fire. Of the 15 charred bodies which were recovered seven were of children, the youngest one being only four years old.
''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) *'' San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune'' *'' Peru Tribune'' * ''The Trib ...

'' (11 February 2001)

Aftermath

Chief minister of

Farooq Abdullah Farooq Abdullah (born 21 October 1937) is an Indian politician who was Ex. President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He has served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982, and as the union minister fo ...

condemned the killings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalwalkote Massacre Mass murder in 2001 Terrorist incidents in India in 2001 Islamic terrorism in India 2001 in India Rajouri district Persecution by Muslims 2000s in Jammu and Kashmir Religiously motivated violence in India Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir