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{{Short description|Genocidal massacres in Jammu}}
{{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| date = October 1947 – November 1947
| place = Jammu province, Princely state of ]
| goals = ],<ref>{{harvnb|Copland, The Abdullah Factor|loc=p.&nbsp;254 (citation 119)}}: "... the census reveals that the Muslim population of Jammu dropped (as a result of emigration, genocide and other factors) from 61 per cent to 38 per cent between 1941 and 1961."</ref> ]<ref name="Bhasin"/>{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|p=179, 183}}{{sfn|Chattha, The Long Shadow of 1947|2016|p=150}}<ref name="Noorani"/>
| methods = ]ing, ], ], ]
| fatalities = {{flowlist}}
* 20,000–100,000 Muslims{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}}
* A large number of Hindus and Sikhs in Rajouri,<ref name="Bhasin"/> and in Mirpur.{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}}
{{endflowlist}}
}}
] (1946) consisted of the Poonch, Mirpur, Riasi, Jammu, Kathua, and Udhampur districts]]


After the ], during October–November 1947 in the ] of the ], many Muslims were massacred and others driven away to ]. The killings were carried out by extremist ]s and ]s, aided and abetted by the forces of ] ].{{sfn|Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu?|2001}} The activists of the ] (RSS) played a key role in planning and executing the riots.<ref name="Bhasin">
In October 1947 in the ] region of Indian occupied Kashmir around 2,37,000 Muslims were massacred in an ethnic cleansing attempt by the forces of the Dogra State headed by ] and aided by extremist Hindus and Sikhs so that the Muslims escape to ] along the border.<ref></ref><ref>{{citation |first=Christopher |last=Snedden |authorlink=Christopher Snedden |title=What happened to Muslims in Jammu? Local identity, ‘"the massacre" of 1947’ and the roots of the ‘Kashmir problem’ |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=24 |number=2 |pp=111–134 |DOI=10.1080/00856400108723454}}</ref> As a result, at the fall of 1947, more than 300,000 refugees had arrived in the ] and ] regions of Pakistan. Hari Singh’s aim was to alter the demographics of the region by eliminating the Muslim population.<ref></ref>{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|pp=179-180}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2904/stories/20120309290407300.htm|title = Horrors of Partition|last = Noorani|first= A.G.|authorlink=A. G. Noorani|date=25 February 2012|newspaper=Frontline |issue=04|volume =29}}</ref>
{{Cite news |last=Ved Bhasin |author-link=Ved Bhasin |title=Jammu 1947 |newspaper=Kashmir Life |date=17 November 2015 |url=http://www.kashmirlife.net/jammu-1947-issue-35-vol-07-89728/}}
</ref><ref>
{{harvnb|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|pp=182, 183}}; {{harvnb|Chattha, The Long Shadow of 1947|2016|p=149}}
</ref> An estimated 20,000–100,000 Muslims were massacred.{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}} Subsequently, many non-Muslims were massacred by Pakistani tribesmen, in the ] region of today's ],{{efn|] writes of unverifiable allegations of 20,000 non-Muslims killed in Mirpur.{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=56}}}}{{sfn|Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir|2012|p=97}} and also in the ] area of Jammu division.<ref name="Bhasin"/>


==See also== == Background ==
] of ]]]
*]
At the time of the ] in 1947, the British abandoned their ] over the ], which were left with the options of joining India or Pakistan or remaining independent. ], the ] of Jammu and Kashmir, indicated his preference to remain independent of the new dominions. All the major political groups of the state supported the Maharaja's decision, except for the ], which declared in favour of accession to Pakistan on 19 July 1947.<ref>{{citation |first=Balraj |last=Puri |author-link=Balraj Puri |title=The Question of Accession |journal=Epilogue |volume=4 |number=11 |pages=4–6 |date=November 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMxJzb7N_8wC&pg=PA4 |quote="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."}}</ref> The Muslim Conference was popular among Muslims in the Jammu province of the state. It was closely allied with the ], which was set to inherit Pakistan.

With the support of ], Muslim Conference leader ] met Pakistani Colonel ] regarding the ]. Ibrahim requested and received arms for the rebels.{{sfn|Bhattacharya, What Price Freedom|2013|pp=25–27}} Establishing a base in ] in Pakistani Punjab, Ibrahim's rebels attempted to purchase arms and ammunition in NWFP and smuggled them into Jammu and Kashmir.{{sfnp|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=44}}<ref name="Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India 2010 105–106">{{harvnb|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010|pp=105–106}};{{harvnb|Nawaz|2008|pp=119–120}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Maharaja was informed of 400 armed Muslims who had infiltrated from ] for the purpose of terrorising Hindu and Sikh minorities. Pakistan was informed and urged to control the infiltration.{{sfn|Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir|2012|pp=90–91}}{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=43}}

On 12 September 1947, then prime minister and defence minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan approved two plans for an invasion of Kashmir prepared by Colonel ] and Sardar ]. Pashtun tribes were mobilised for an armed attack.{{sfn|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010|pp=105–106}}{{sfn|Nawaz|2008|p=120}}

=== Communal situation in the State ===
Maharaja Hari Singh was seen by informed observers as liberal and non-sectarian, even though, in the run-up to the ], he was believed to have come under the influence of the ].<ref>
{{harvnb|Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2|2015|p=64}}: "Hari Singh, it may be said to his credit, was a liberal-minded ruler when he ascended the throne and remained so till 1931 when to his great misfortune, the political awakening among Muslims touched great heights and led to the demand for responsible government... Hari Singh was prepared to be liberal; he was prepared to give better treatment to his Muslim subjects than they had received before, but he was not prepared for radical political reforms."
</ref><ref>
{{harvnb|Abdullah, Flames of Chinar|1993|p=91}}: "The Maharaja had always appeared to be free from religious prejudices. He was close to his Muslim courtiers especially Nawab Khusro Jung, Abdul Rahman Afandi and Sahibzada Noor Mohammad. But things took a drastic turn at the time when the ''shuddhi'' and ''tabligh'' movements gathered force.... the Maharaja moved closer to the Arya Samaj camp."</ref> At least a third of the ] and over half of its police force was Muslim. Both the army and police were headed by British officers until 3 October (Major General ], Chief of Staff, and Richard Powell, Inspector General of Police).<ref>
{{harvnb|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|pp=54–55}}: "Two-fifths of his state forces and the majority of his police were Muslims. The Chief of Staff--the second in command--of the state forces was a Muslim, as was the chief of police in Jammu."
</ref>{{sfn|Ankit, Henry Scott|2010}} After they stepped down, they were replaced by 'Hindu officers', according to British reports.{{sfn|Ankit, October 1947|2010|p=9}} The Jammu Brigade and the Jammu police were still headed by Muslim officers (Brigadier Khuda Baksh, commanding the Jammu Brigade,<ref>
{{citation |last=Parkash |first=Dewan Ram |title=Fight for Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kc_AAAAMAAJ |year=1948 |publisher=Tagore Memorial Publications |location=New Delhi |page=32}}: A State government press release dated 16 October 1947 stated, "The State has already exposed the canard that the army in Jammu consisted only of Sikhs and Dogras by pointing out that the force is mixed in composition and commanded by Brigadier Khuda Baksh."
</ref> and Mian Abdul Rashid, Senior Superintendent of Police).<ref>
{{harvnb|Amanullah Khan, Free Kashmir|1970|p=92}}: "One day when I came back from my morning prayers, I was told at home that Mian Aziz, brother of Mian Abdul Rashid, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu had come to my house and left a message for me to see him."
</ref><ref>
{{citation |author=Lok Sabha |title=Lok Sabha Debates, Volume 12, Issues 27–31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nl5PAQAAMAAJ |date=January 1963 |publisher=Lok Sabha Secretariat |page=5965}}: Shri Kirit Bikram Deb Burman: Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
: (a) whether it is a fact that Ex-Inspector General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir State has migrated to Pakistan and his name is Mian Abdul Rashid; and
: (b) whether the said Ex-Inspector General has been appointed intelligence Chief of Azad Kashmir?
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Shri Datar):
: (a) Yes.
: (b) The Government of India have no information. The Pakistan press has, however, denied this report.</ref>

From June 1946 onwards, the Muslim Conference is reported to have tightened its connections with Pakistan's Muslim League, importing its leaders into the state and starting to train 'National Guards'. Its new leaders (] for general secreatry and ] for president) were "working up anti-Hindu sentiments under the guise of uniting all Muslims", according to the British Resident in Kashmir.{{sfn|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|p=14}} The Resident also reported that, in March 1947, ] (from the ]) sent his agents to prepare the people for a 'holy crusade' to be carried out by frontier tribes soon after the departure of the British.{{sfn|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|pp=15–16}}

Also in March 1947, following the ], large numbers of Hindus and Sikhs from ] and ] started arriving in Jammu, bringing "harrowing stories of Muslim atrocities in West Punjab". According to scholar Ilyas Chattha, this eventually provoked counter-violence on Jammu Muslims, which had "many parallels with that in Sialkot".{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|p=179}}<ref name="Noorani">{{Cite news|url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2904/stories/20120309290407300.htm|title=Horrors of Partition|last=Noorani|first=A.G.|date=25 February 2012|issue=4|volume=29|author-link=A. G. Noorani|newspaper=Frontline}}
</ref> Scholar ] states that, though the arrival of refugees caused considerable unease in Jammu, the city remained free of communal disturbances till the end of September 1947.<ref>
{{harvnb|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996|p=10}};
{{harvnb|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003|p=11}}
</ref>

During August–September 1947, roughly 100,000 Muslims from East Punjab and an equal number of non-Muslims from West Punjab were safely escorted through Jammu by ].{{sfn|Ankit, Henry Scott|2010|p=44}}{{sfnp|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003|loc=p. 19: " Scott, in fact, pointed out in his report to London that Kashmir had remained free of communal trouble despite the fact that the state troops had escorted 100,000 Muslims through Jammu territory on their way to Pakistan, an equal number of Sikhs and Hindus going the other way and that Poonch had become a temporary place of refuge for around 60,000 refugees, mainly Hindus and Sikhs from west Punjab."}}

== Violence against Jammu Muslims ==
According to scholar Ian Copland, the Jammu and Kashmir administration carried out a pogrom against its Muslim subjects in Jammu partly out of revenge for the ] that started earlier.{{sfn|Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood|2005|p=}}

Some observers state that a main aim of Hari Singh and his administration was to alter the demographics of the region by eliminating the Muslim population, in order to ensure a Hindu majority in the region.<ref name="Bhasin" />{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|p=179, 183}}<ref name="Noorani" />

Scholar Ilyas Chattha and Jammu journalist ] blame the mishandling of law and order by Maharaja Hari Singh and his armed forces in Jammu, for the large scale communal violence in the region.<ref name=Noorani /><ref name=Bhasin />

=== Massacres ===
On 14 October, the ] activists and the ] attacked various villages of Jammu district—Amrey, Cheak, Atmapur and Kochpura—and after killing some Muslims, looted their possessions and set their houses on fire.{{sfn|Puri, Across the Line of Control|2012|pp=25–26}}{{sfn|Talbot, Pakistan: A Modern History|1998|pp=115-116, note 90}} There was mass killing of Muslims in and around Jammu city. The state troops led the attacks. The state officials provided arms and ammunition to the rioters. The administration had demobilised many Muslim soldiers in the state army and had discharged Muslim police officers.{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|pp=180, 182}}{{efn|According to the accounts of refugees, the Maharaja was "in person commanding all the forces which were ethnically cleansing the Muslims".{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|p=183}}{{sfn|Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood|2005|p=156}}
}} Most of the Muslims outside the Muslim dominated areas were killed by the communal rioters who moved in vehicles with arms and ammunition, though the city was officially put under curfew.<ref>
{{citation |last=Bhasin |first=Ved |author-link=Ved Bhasin |title=Jammu 1947 |publisher=] |date=17 November 2015 |url=http://www.kashmirlife.net/jammu-1947-issue-35-vol-07-89728/ |quote=The curfew, it appeared, was meant only to check the movement of Muslims.}}
</ref> Many ] men and women who used to supply milk to the city from the surrounding villages were reportedly massacred en route. It is said that the Ramnagar reserve in Jammu was littered with the dead bodies of Gujjar men, women and children. In the Muslim localities of ], ''Talab Khatikan'' and ''Mohalla Ustad'', Muslims were surrounded and were denied water supply and food. The Muslims in Talab Khatikan area had joined to defend themselves with the arms they could gather, who later received support from the Muslim Conference. They were eventually asked to surrender and the administration asked them to go to Pakistan for their safety. These Muslims and others who wanted to go to Sialkot, in thousands, were loaded in numerous trucks and were escorted by the troops in the first week of November. When they reached the outskirts of the city, they were pulled out and killed by armed Sikhs and RSS men, while abducting the women.<ref name="Bhasin" />{{sfn|Puri, Across the Line of Control|2012|pp=25–26}}{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|p=183}}

There were also reports of large-scale massacres of Muslims in Udhampur district, particularly in proper ], ], Ramnagar, ] and ] areas. Killing of numerous Muslims was reported from Chhamb, Deva Batala, Manawsar and other parts of ] with many people fleeing to Pakistan or moving to Jammu. In ] district and ] area, there was extensive killing of Muslims with women being raped and abducted.<ref name="Bhasin"/><ref name="Ahmad">
{{citation |last=Ahmad |first=Khalid Bashir |title=circa 1947: A Long Story |newspaper=Kashmir Life |date=5 November 2014 |url=http://www.kashmirlife.net/circa-1947-a-long-story-67652/}}
</ref>

On 16 November 1947, ] arrived in Jammu and a refugee camp was set up in ''Mohalla Ustad''.<ref name=Bhasin />

=== Observations ===
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 0.5em; margin-right: 0.5em; font-size: 85%; background:#white; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 30%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" |"To recall those days of communal orgy my only objective is to point out that a communalist and killer has no religion. It was the humanity that was the victim of communal fanatics... we should better learn appropriate lessons from history and not allow the communal fanatics of one or the other community to vitiate the atmosphere and disturb communal peace and harmony."
— ], who witnessed the Jammu violence in 1947.<ref name=Bhasin />
|}
] commented on the situation in Jammu on 25 December 1947 in his speech at a prayer meeting in New Delhi: "The Hindus and Sikhs of Jammu and those who had gone there from outside killed Muslims. The Maharaja of Kashmir is responsible for what is happening there…A large number of Muslims have been killed there and Muslim women have been dishonoured."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=baIYX6OGINoC|title=The second assassination of Gandhi? by Ram Puniyani|publisher=Anamika Pub & Distributors|year=2003|isbn=9788174951489|pages=91, 92|chapter=Document Twenty}}</ref>

According to Ved Bhasin and scholar Ilyas Chattha, the Jammu riots were executed by members of the ] (RSS) who were joined by the refugees from West Pakistan, and were supported strongly by Hari Singh and his administration with a main aim to change the demographic composition of Jammu region and ensure a non-Muslim majority. Bhasin states, the riots were "clearly" planned by the activists of RSS.<ref name=Bhasin />{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|p=182, 183}} Observers have noted that the ] Sikhs and some former members of the ] (INA) also participated in this violence along with the RSS and state forces.{{sfn|Copland, The Abdullah Factor|p=244}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MnHaAAAAMAAJ |title=Impact of Partition: Refugees in Pakistan: Struggle for Empowerment and State's Response |last=Hassan |first=Amtul |date=2006 |publisher=Regional Centre for Strategic Studies |isbn=9788173046988 |pages=58 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clVkXbbcrhIC&pg=PA145 |title=The Nation, the State, and Indian Identity |last1=Dutta |first1=Madhusree |last2=Flavia |last3=Adarkar |first3=Neera |date=1996 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |isbn=9788185604091 |pages=145 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJGdBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA209 |title=Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition |last=Hajari |first=Nisid |date=9 June 2015 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=9780547669243 |pages=209 |language=en}}</ref>

Bhasin says that the massacres took place in the presence of the then Jammu and Kashmir's Prime Minister ] and the governor of Jammu, Lala Chet Ram Chopra, and that some of those who led these riots in Udhampur and Bhaderwah later joined the ] with some of them also serving as ministers.<ref name=Bhasin />{{efn|{{citation |last1=Ved Bhasin |title=Jammu 1947 |date=17 November 2015 |url=http://www.kashmirlife.net/jammu-1947-issue-35-vol-07-89728/ |publisher=] |author1-link=Ved Bhasin }}: "Another incident that I recall is about Mr ] who told a delegation of Hindus who met him in the palace when he arrived in Jammu that now when the power is being transferred to the people they should better demand parity. When one of them associated with National Conference asked how can they demand parity when there is so much difference in population ratio. Pointing to the Ramnagar rakh below, where some bodies of Muslims were still lying he said “the population ratio too can change”.}}

=== Estimates of people killed and displaced ===
An early official calculation made in Pakistan, using headcount data, estimated 50,000 Muslims killed.{{sfn|Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood|2005|pp=153–154}} A team of two ] jointly commissioned by the governments of India and Pakistan investigated seven major incidents of violence between 20 October – 9 November 1947, estimating 70,000 deaths.{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|pp=52–53}} Scholar Ian Copland estimated total deaths to be around 80,000,{{sfn|Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood|2005|p=153}} while Ved Bhasin estimated them to be around 100,000.<ref name="Ahmad" /> Scholar ] says, the number of Muslims killed were between 20,000 and 100,000.{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}} Justice ] estimates them to be between 20,000 and 30,000.{{sfn|Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2|2015|p=133}}

Much higher figures were reported by newspapers at that time. A report by a special correspondent of ''The Times'', published on 10 August 1948, stated that a total of 237,000 Muslims were either killed or migrated to Pakistan.{{sfn|Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu?|2001}}{{efn|To quote 10 August 1948 report published in '']'': {{quote|"237,000 Muslims were systematically exterminated – unless they escaped to Pakistan along the border – by the forces of the Dogra State headed by the Maharaja in person and aided by Hindus and Sikhs. This happened in October 1947, five days before the ] and nine days before the ]."}} The number of 237,000 was out of 411,000 Muslims said to have lived in the 'eastern Jammu' province. No calculations for the exact figure were given and the figure was not broken down into deaths and escapes. The 'Special Correspondent' that authored the report is later identified as Frederick Paul Mainprice, the former Assistant Political Agent of the ], who worked as a Deputy Secretary for the Pakistan government during 1948–49 "specialising on the Kashmir problem".{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|pp=55,&nbsp;330}}<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk/oldsite/brrrkg/archive/papers/handlist/Handlist_M.htm |title=MAINPRICE PAPERS |publisher=South Asian Studies Archive, University of Cambridge |access-date=31 March 2017}}</ref>}} The editor of '']'' Ian Stephens claimed that 500,000 Muslims, "the entire Muslim element of the population", was eliminated and 200,000 "just disappeared".{{sfn|Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu?|2001|p=121}} Scholar Ian Copland finds these figures dubious.{{efn|{{harvnb|Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood|2005|p=153}}: "None of these figures, however, are authoritative.... And the ''Times'' man, too, seems to have harboured Pakistani sympathies and, more importantly, offers no clues as to the source of his information."}}

The Pakistani newspaper '']'' reported that more than 100,000 Jammu refugees had arrived in ] by 20 November 1947.{{sfn|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009|p=185}} Snedden, on the other hand, cites a "comprehensive report" in '']'', which said that 200,000 Muslims went as refugees to Pakistan in October–November 1947.{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=56}} An unidentified organisation in Pakistan counted refugees from Jammu and Kashmir during May–July 1949, and found 333,964 refugees from the Indian-held parts of the state.{{sfn|Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu?|2001|p=125}} Of these, an estimated 100,000 refugees returned to their homes in 1949–1950, leaving an estimated 233,964 refugees in Pakistan.<ref name="Saraf returnees"/> Based on the electoral rolls of ] in 1970, the number that remained in Pakistan is estimated to be in the range 219,718 – 259,047.<ref>{{harvnb|Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2|2015|p=133}}: "In the 1970 elections for A.K. President as well as the Legislative Assembly, the number of voters from Jammu province, residing in Pakistan, was 2,29,152. The population percentage of voters for Pakistan elections which were held in the same year was about 50%. It would take the population figures of Jammu refugees in Pakistan in 1970 to about five lakhs." </ref>

== Violence against Hindus and Sikhs in Rajouri and Mirpur ==
Muslims in the western districts of ] began an agitation against taxes in mid-1947, which escalated into an armed rebellion against Hari Singh's government, and expanded to ].{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|pp=164–167}} In October 1947, a force of ] tribesman crossed into Kashmir from Pakistan's ] and the adjoining princely states and ].{{sfn|Bhatia|2020|pp=80–82}} The rebels took control of most of the countryside in these districts by the end of the month, driving non-Muslims to seek shelter in towns where the State troops were garrisoned. Beginning on 24 October, the towns themselves fell to the rebels: ] (24 October), ] (7 November), and ] (25 November).{{sfn|Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir|2012|p=97}}

=== Rajouri ===
Rajouri was held by the "Azad Kashmir forces", or rebels from Poonch, and the raiders, until April 1948, when the town was taken by the Indian armed forces.{{sfn|Bhatia|2020|pp=80–82}} The town was surrounded by Muslim mobs who carried out extensive killings, loot and rapes of Hindu residents.<ref name="Bhasin" /> The Hindus facing this persecution included the town's residents as well as those displaced from the surrounding countryside.{{sfn|Bhatia|2020|pp=80–82}} Some Hindus were able to escape, while others were sheltered by sympathetic Muslims.{{sfn|Bhatia|2020|pp=80–82}} Mass suicides and killings, including by beheading or poisoning, occurred among women, sometimes at the hands of men in their family. These were the result of fears that they would be sexually abused by the raiders.{{sfn|Bhatia|2020|pp=80–82}} The capture of Rajouri from the raiders is commemorated on 13 April,<ref>
{{cite news |title=The day Rajouri was recaptured |last=Maini |first=K.D. |date=12 April 2015 |website=dailyexcelsior.com |publisher=Daily Excelsior |access-date=19 October 2020 |url=https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/the-day-rajouri-was-recaptured/}}
</ref> and a monument was erected to honour the incident in the town.{{sfn|Bhatia|2020|pp=80–82}}

=== Mirpur ===
After the Indian army repelled the Pashtun raiders from near ] on 25 November, the raiders turned to ], in present-day ].{{sfn|Puri|2010|p=28}} Political scientist ] writes of unverifiable allegations that 20,000 non-Muslims were killed on and shortly after 25 November in Mirpur, and a further 2500 were abducted.{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=56}}{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}} In the district of Mirpur and nearby regions of ], Hindu and Sikh women were also raped and abducted.{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}} November 25 is now commemorated as "Mirpur Day" in Indian-administered Kashmir.{{sfn|Puri|2010|p=30}}

== Population figures ==
The table below compares the 1941 percentage of Muslim population with the present percentage for the Indian-administered part of the ] and gives figures for estimated 'loss' of Muslims, due to deaths as well as migration.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Region
! 1941 Population{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=28}}
! 1941 Muslim proportion{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=28}}
! 2011 Muslim proportion<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html |publisher=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |title=C-1 Population by religious community (2011 Census) |access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>
! Loss of Muslims (est){{efn|These figures are notional. They represent the number of Muslims lost to the state, due to either deaths or out-migration, so that the 2011 demographic percentage could have been obtained. It is derived by multiplying the 1941 population figure by the factor (1941 percentage – 2011 percentage)/(100 – 2011 percentage). If there was in-migration of Muslims or if the Muslim population grew at faster rate than the rest, these figures would be underestimates. If there was in-migration of non-Muslims, these figures would be overestimates.}}
|-
| Jammu District{{efn|The 1947 Jammu district is now divided into ] and ] districts}}
|| 431,362 || 39.6% || 7.1% || 151,010
|-
| Kathua District || 177,672 || 25.3% || 10.4% || 29,567
|-
| Udhampur District (inc. Chenani){{efn|The 1947 Udhampur district is now divided into ], ], ] and ] districts}}
|| 306,013 || 42.7% || 41.5% || 5,975
|-
| Reasi District{{efn|The 1947 Reasi district is now divided into ] and ] districts}}
|| 257,903 || 68.1% || 58.4% || 59,804
|--
| Jammu province (exc. ] and ]) || 1,172,950 || 44.5% || 27.9% || 246,356
|--
| ] || 421,828 || 90.0% || 90.4% || –
|}
]
Scholar Ian Copland tries to estimate how many Muslims might have been killed in the Jammu violence based on demographic data. If the headcount figure of 333,964 refugees from the Indian-administered parts of the state{{sfn|Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu?|2001|p=125}} is used to calculate an estimate, one ends up with a surplus rather than a deficit.{{sfn|Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood|2005|p=153}}{{efn|An even higher figure of 500,000 Muslim refugees was reported in '']'' on 2 January 1951.{{sfn|Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu?|2001|p=125}} Scholar Ilyas Chattha has claimed that over 1 million Muslims were uprooted owing to the violence.{{sfn|Chattha, The Long Shadow of 1947|2016|p=145}} Evidently, such high figures are not supported by the demographic data.}} However, Justice ] estimates that 100,000 Jammu refugees returned to their homes in 1949–1950.<ref name="Saraf returnees">{{harvnb|Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2|2015|p=481}}: "Towards the middle of 1949, a movement for return started on a small scale which gained momentum by the end of 1950. A fair estimate of the returnees is about a hundred thousand. Sheikh Abdullah's Government re-settled them on their abandoned properties, advanced taqqavi loans and appointed a special staff to look after their problems."</ref>{{efn|Jammu and Kashmir government has claimed that 200,000 refugees returned.<ref>{{citation |title=Jammu & Kashmir, 1947–50: An Account of Activities of First Three Years of Sheikh Abdullah's Government |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jjHHO3z_1_wC |year=1951 |publisher=Printed at the Ranbir Government Press |page=90}}</ref>}} If we deduct this 100,000 from the original headcount figure, the estimate of Muslims killed would be a few tens of thousands.{{sfn|Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2|2015|p=133}}{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}}

The table below compares the 1941 percentage of 'Hindu & Sikh' population (H/S population) with that in 1951 for the areas of Pakistan-administered ] (comprising 89 per cent of the Mirpur District, 60 per cent of the Poonch Jagir and 87 per cent of the Muzaffarabad District{{sfn|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015|p=167}}).
{{clear}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Region
! 1941 Population{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=28}}
! 1941 H/S proportion{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=28}}
! 1951 Population{{sfn|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013|p=161}}{{efn|Figures from the 1951 census of Pakistan. They only cover the areas that came under Pakistani control.}}
! 1951 H/S proportion<ref>{{harvnb|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015}}: "By 1951, of the former approximately 114,000 non-Muslims who in 1941 had lived in areas that later came to comprise Azad Kashmir... only a paltry 790 non-Muslims remained."</ref>
! Loss of Hindus/Sikhs (est)
|-
| ]
|| 386,655 || 19.6% || 371,459 || – || –
|-
| Poonch Jagir
|| 421,828 || 10.0% || 293,723 || – || –
|-
| ] District
|| 264,671 || 7.1% || 220,971 || – || –
|-
|--
| Azad Kashmir Districts{{efn|Mirpur and Poonch were part of the Jammu province in the princely state whereas Muzaffarabad was part of the Kashmir province.}}
|| 1,073,154 || 12.7% || 886,153 || 0.09% || 113,210
|--
|}

== See also ==
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==References== ==Notes==
{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{citation |first=Sheikh Mohammad |last=Abdullah |authorlink=Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah |title=Flames of the Chinar: an autobiography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dC1uAAAAMAAJ |year=1993 |publisher=Viking |isbn=9780670853182 |ref={{sfnref|Abdullah, Flames of Chinar|1993}}}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Ankit |first=Rakesh |title=Henry Scott: The forgotten soldier of Kashmir |magazine=Epilogue |volume=4 |number=5 |url=https://issuu.com/epilogue/docs/may_10/46 |date=May 2010 |pages=44–49 |via=issuu.com |ref={{sfnref|Ankit, Henry Scott|2010}} }}
* {{cite magazine |first=Rakesh |last=Ankit |title=October 1947 |magazine=Epilogue |volume=4 |number=11 |date=November 2010 |pages=9– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMxJzb7N_8wC&pg=PA9 |ref={{sfnref|Ankit, October 1947|2010}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Bhatia |first=Mohita |title=Rethinking Conflict at the Margins: Dalits and Borderland Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir: Going Beyond the Dominant Discourse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxzhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |year=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-83602-9}}
* {{citation |last=Bhattacharya |first=Brigadier Samir |title=NOTHING BUT!: Book Three: What Price Freedom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HESVAgAAQBAJ |date=2013 |publisher=Partridge Publishing |isbn=978-1-4828-1625-9 |ref={{sfnref|Bhattacharya, What Price Freedom|2013}}}}
* {{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Chattha |first=Ilyas Ahmad |title=Partition and Its Aftermath: Violence, Migration and the Role of Refugees in the Socio-Economic Development of Gujranwala and Sialkot Cities, 1947–1961 |date=September 2009 |url=https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/366712/ |publisher=Centre for Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies, School of Humanities, University of Southampton |access-date=16 February 2016 |ref={{sfnref|Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath|2009}}}}
:*Since republished as {{cite book |last=Chattha |first=Ilyas |title=Partition and Locality: Violence, Migration and Development in Gujranwala and Sialkot 1947–1961 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780199061723}}
* {{cite book |last=Chattha |first=Ilyas |chapter=The Long Shadow of 1947: Partition, Violence and Displacement in Jammu & Kashmir |editor1=Amritjit Singh |editor2=Nalini Iyer |editor3=Rahul K. Gairola |title=Revisiting India's Partition: New Essays on Memory, Culture, and Politics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmA0DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA145 |year=2016 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-4985-3105-4 |pages=143–156|ref={{sfnref|Chattha, The Long Shadow of 1947|2016}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Copland |first=Ian |chapter=The Abdullah Factor: Kashmiri Muslims and the Crisis of 1947 |editor=D. A. Low |title=Political Inheritance of Pakistan |year=1991 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781349115563 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VaeuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA254 |ref={{sfnref|Copland, The Abdullah Factor}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Copland |first=Ian |title=State, Community and Neighbourhood in Princely North India, c. 1900-1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=squHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153 |year=2005 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-0-230-00598-3 |pages=153– |ref={{sfnref|Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood|2005}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Das Gupta |first=Jyoti Bhusan |title=Jammu and Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpTpCAAAQBAJ |date=2012 |orig-year=first published 1968 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-011-9231-6 |ref={{sfnref|Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir|2012}}}}
* {{citation |last=Jha |first=Prem Shankar |authorlink=Prem Shankar Jha |title=Kashmir, 1947: Rival Versions of History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBORQgAACAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-563766-3 |ref={{sfnref|Jha, Rival Versions of History|1996}}}}
** {{citation |last=Jha |first=Prem Shankar |title=The Origins of a Dispute: Kashmir 1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kluAAAAMAAJ |year=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566486-7 |ref={{sfnref|Jha, The Origins of a Dispute|2003}}}}
* {{citation |last=Khan |first=Amanullah |authorlink=Amanullah Khan (JKLF) |title=Free Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sY4l0rB0Ut0C |year=1970 |location=Karachi |publisher=Central Printing Press |ref={{sfnref|Amanullah Khan, Free Kashmir|1970}}}}
* {{citation |last=Nawaz |first=Shuja |title=The First Kashmir War Revisited |journal=India Review |volume=7 |number=2 |pages=115–154 |doi=10.1080/14736480802055455 |date=May 2008 |s2cid=155030407 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Puri |first=Luv |title=Across the Line of Control: Inside Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir |publisher=Hurst |year=2012 |isbn=9781849041737 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kYVcuqYr5FIC&pg=PA25 |ref={{sfnref|Puri, Across the Line of Control|2012}}}}
* {{citation |last=Raghavan |first=Srinath |title=War and Peace in Modern India: A Strategic History of the Nehru Years |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbtBJb1bsHUC |date=2010 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-00737-7 |ref={{sfnref|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010}}}}
* {{citation |last=Saraf |first=Muhammad Yusuf |title=Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 |year=2015 |origyear=1979 |publisher=National Institute Kashmir Studies |location=Mirpur |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.3541 |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2|2015}}}}
* {{cite journal |last=Snedden |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Snedden |title=What happened to Muslims in Jammu? Local identity, '"the massacre" of 1947' and the roots of the 'Kashmir problem' |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=24 |number=2 |year=2001 |pages=111–134 |doi=10.1080/00856400108723454 |s2cid=143991832 |ref={{sfnref|Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu?|2001}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Snedden |first=Christopher |year=2013 |author-link=Christopher Snedden |title=Kashmir: The Unwritten History |publisher=HarperCollins India |isbn=978-9350298985 |orig-year=first published as ''The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir'', 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cPjAAAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History|2013}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Snedden |first=Christopher |title=Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-84904-342-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s5KMCwAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|2015}}}}
* {{citation |last=Talbot |first=Ian |title=Pakistan: A Modern History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBs0HdpKuaQC |year=1998 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-21606-1 |ref={{sfnref|Talbot, Pakistan: A Modern History|1998}}}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* Khalid Bashir Ahmad, , Greater Kashmir, 5 November 2014.

{{Kashmir conflict}} {{Kashmir conflict}}


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Latest revision as of 03:14, 20 November 2024

Genocidal massacres in Jammu

1947 Jammu massacres
DateOctober 1947 – November 1947
LocationJammu province, Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir
GoalsGenocide, ethnic cleansing
MethodsRioting, pogrom, arson, mass rape
Casualties
Death(s)
  • 20,000–100,000 Muslims
  • A large number of Hindus and Sikhs in Rajouri, and in Mirpur.
The Jammu province of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (1946) consisted of the Poonch, Mirpur, Riasi, Jammu, Kathua, and Udhampur districts

After the Partition of India, during October–November 1947 in the Jammu region of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, many Muslims were massacred and others driven away to West Punjab. The killings were carried out by extremist Hindus and Sikhs, aided and abetted by the forces of Maharaja Hari Singh. The activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) played a key role in planning and executing the riots. An estimated 20,000–100,000 Muslims were massacred. Subsequently, many non-Muslims were massacred by Pakistani tribesmen, in the Mirpur region of today's Pakistani administered Kashmir, and also in the Rajouri area of Jammu division.

Background

Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir

At the time of the Partition of India in 1947, the British abandoned their suzerainty over the princely states, which were left with the options of joining India or Pakistan or remaining independent. Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, indicated his preference to remain independent of the new dominions. All the 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. The Muslim Conference was popular among Muslims in the Jammu province of the state. It was closely allied with the All-India Muslim League, which was set to inherit Pakistan.

With the support of Mian Iftikharuddin, Muslim Conference leader Sardar Ibrahim met Pakistani Colonel Akbar Khan regarding the 1947 Poonch Rebellion. Ibrahim requested and received arms for the rebels. Establishing a base in Murree in Pakistani Punjab, Ibrahim's rebels attempted to purchase arms and ammunition in NWFP and smuggled them into Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, the Maharaja was informed of 400 armed Muslims who had infiltrated from Kahuta for the purpose of terrorising Hindu and Sikh minorities. Pakistan was informed and urged to control the infiltration.

On 12 September 1947, then prime minister and defence minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan approved two plans for an invasion of Kashmir prepared by Colonel Akbar Khan and Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan. Pashtun tribes were mobilised for an armed attack.

Communal situation in the State

Maharaja Hari Singh was seen by informed observers as liberal and non-sectarian, even though, in the run-up to the Partition, he was believed to have come under the influence of the Arya Samaj. At least a third of the state army and over half of its police force was Muslim. Both the army and police were headed by British officers until 3 October (Major General Henry Lawrence Scott, Chief of Staff, and Richard Powell, Inspector General of Police). After they stepped down, they were replaced by 'Hindu officers', according to British reports. The Jammu Brigade and the Jammu police were still headed by Muslim officers (Brigadier Khuda Baksh, commanding the Jammu Brigade, and Mian Abdul Rashid, Senior Superintendent of Police).

From June 1946 onwards, the Muslim Conference is reported to have tightened its connections with Pakistan's Muslim League, importing its leaders into the state and starting to train 'National Guards'. Its new leaders (Agha Shaukat Ali for general secreatry and Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas for president) were "working up anti-Hindu sentiments under the guise of uniting all Muslims", according to the British Resident in Kashmir. The Resident also reported that, in March 1947, Pir of Manki Sharif (from the North-West Frontier Province) sent his agents to prepare the people for a 'holy crusade' to be carried out by frontier tribes soon after the departure of the British.

Also in March 1947, following the massacres in Rawalpindi, large numbers of Hindus and Sikhs from Rawalpindi and Sialkot started arriving in Jammu, bringing "harrowing stories of Muslim atrocities in West Punjab". According to scholar Ilyas Chattha, this eventually provoked counter-violence on Jammu Muslims, which had "many parallels with that in Sialkot". Scholar Prem Shankar Jha states that, though the arrival of refugees caused considerable unease in Jammu, the city remained free of communal disturbances till the end of September 1947.

During August–September 1947, roughly 100,000 Muslims from East Punjab and an equal number of non-Muslims from West Punjab were safely escorted through Jammu by Jammu and Kashmir State Forces.

Violence against Jammu Muslims

According to scholar Ian Copland, the Jammu and Kashmir administration carried out a pogrom against its Muslim subjects in Jammu partly out of revenge for the Poonch rebellion that started earlier.

Some observers state that a main aim of Hari Singh and his administration was to alter the demographics of the region by eliminating the Muslim population, in order to ensure a Hindu majority in the region.

Scholar Ilyas Chattha and Jammu journalist Ved Bhasin blame the mishandling of law and order by Maharaja Hari Singh and his armed forces in Jammu, for the large scale communal violence in the region.

Massacres

On 14 October, the RSS activists and the Akalis attacked various villages of Jammu district—Amrey, Cheak, Atmapur and Kochpura—and after killing some Muslims, looted their possessions and set their houses on fire. There was mass killing of Muslims in and around Jammu city. The state troops led the attacks. The state officials provided arms and ammunition to the rioters. The administration had demobilised many Muslim soldiers in the state army and had discharged Muslim police officers. Most of the Muslims outside the Muslim dominated areas were killed by the communal rioters who moved in vehicles with arms and ammunition, though the city was officially put under curfew. Many Gujjar men and women who used to supply milk to the city from the surrounding villages were reportedly massacred en route. It is said that the Ramnagar reserve in Jammu was littered with the dead bodies of Gujjar men, women and children. In the Muslim localities of Jammu city, Talab Khatikan and Mohalla Ustad, Muslims were surrounded and were denied water supply and food. The Muslims in Talab Khatikan area had joined to defend themselves with the arms they could gather, who later received support from the Muslim Conference. They were eventually asked to surrender and the administration asked them to go to Pakistan for their safety. These Muslims and others who wanted to go to Sialkot, in thousands, were loaded in numerous trucks and were escorted by the troops in the first week of November. When they reached the outskirts of the city, they were pulled out and killed by armed Sikhs and RSS men, while abducting the women.

There were also reports of large-scale massacres of Muslims in Udhampur district, particularly in proper Udhampur, Chenani, Ramnagar, Bhaderwah and Reasi areas. Killing of numerous Muslims was reported from Chhamb, Deva Batala, Manawsar and other parts of Akhnoor with many people fleeing to Pakistan or moving to Jammu. In Kathua district and Billawar area, there was extensive killing of Muslims with women being raped and abducted.

On 16 November 1947, Sheikh Abdullah arrived in Jammu and a refugee camp was set up in Mohalla Ustad.

Observations

"To recall those days of communal orgy my only objective is to point out that a communalist and killer has no religion. It was the humanity that was the victim of communal fanatics... we should better learn appropriate lessons from history and not allow the communal fanatics of one or the other community to vitiate the atmosphere and disturb communal peace and harmony."

Ved Bhasin, who witnessed the Jammu violence in 1947.

Mahatma Gandhi commented on the situation in Jammu on 25 December 1947 in his speech at a prayer meeting in New Delhi: "The Hindus and Sikhs of Jammu and those who had gone there from outside killed Muslims. The Maharaja of Kashmir is responsible for what is happening there…A large number of Muslims have been killed there and Muslim women have been dishonoured."

According to Ved Bhasin and scholar Ilyas Chattha, the Jammu riots were executed by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who were joined by the refugees from West Pakistan, and were supported strongly by Hari Singh and his administration with a main aim to change the demographic composition of Jammu region and ensure a non-Muslim majority. Bhasin states, the riots were "clearly" planned by the activists of RSS. Observers have noted that the Akali Sikhs and some former members of the Indian National Army (INA) also participated in this violence along with the RSS and state forces.

Bhasin says that the massacres took place in the presence of the then Jammu and Kashmir's Prime Minister Mehr Chand Mahajan and the governor of Jammu, Lala Chet Ram Chopra, and that some of those who led these riots in Udhampur and Bhaderwah later joined the National Conference with some of them also serving as ministers.

Estimates of people killed and displaced

An early official calculation made in Pakistan, using headcount data, estimated 50,000 Muslims killed. A team of two Englishmen jointly commissioned by the governments of India and Pakistan investigated seven major incidents of violence between 20 October – 9 November 1947, estimating 70,000 deaths. Scholar Ian Copland estimated total deaths to be around 80,000, while Ved Bhasin estimated them to be around 100,000. Scholar Christopher Snedden says, the number of Muslims killed were between 20,000 and 100,000. Justice Yusuf Saraf estimates them to be between 20,000 and 30,000.

Much higher figures were reported by newspapers at that time. A report by a special correspondent of The Times, published on 10 August 1948, stated that a total of 237,000 Muslims were either killed or migrated to Pakistan. The editor of The Statesman Ian Stephens claimed that 500,000 Muslims, "the entire Muslim element of the population", was eliminated and 200,000 "just disappeared". Scholar Ian Copland finds these figures dubious.

The Pakistani newspaper Nawa-i-Waqt reported that more than 100,000 Jammu refugees had arrived in Sialkot by 20 November 1947. Snedden, on the other hand, cites a "comprehensive report" in Dawn, which said that 200,000 Muslims went as refugees to Pakistan in October–November 1947. An unidentified organisation in Pakistan counted refugees from Jammu and Kashmir during May–July 1949, and found 333,964 refugees from the Indian-held parts of the state. Of these, an estimated 100,000 refugees returned to their homes in 1949–1950, leaving an estimated 233,964 refugees in Pakistan. Based on the electoral rolls of Pakistan-administered Kashmir in 1970, the number that remained in Pakistan is estimated to be in the range 219,718 – 259,047.

Violence against Hindus and Sikhs in Rajouri and Mirpur

Muslims in the western districts of Poonch jagir began an agitation against taxes in mid-1947, which escalated into an armed rebellion against Hari Singh's government, and expanded to Mirpur district. In October 1947, a force of Pathan tribesman crossed into Kashmir from Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province and the adjoining princely states and tribal areas. The rebels took control of most of the countryside in these districts by the end of the month, driving non-Muslims to seek shelter in towns where the State troops were garrisoned. Beginning on 24 October, the towns themselves fell to the rebels: Bhimber (24 October), Rajauri (7 November), and Mirpur (25 November).

Rajouri

Rajouri was held by the "Azad Kashmir forces", or rebels from Poonch, and the raiders, until April 1948, when the town was taken by the Indian armed forces. The town was surrounded by Muslim mobs who carried out extensive killings, loot and rapes of Hindu residents. The Hindus facing this persecution included the town's residents as well as those displaced from the surrounding countryside. Some Hindus were able to escape, while others were sheltered by sympathetic Muslims. Mass suicides and killings, including by beheading or poisoning, occurred among women, sometimes at the hands of men in their family. These were the result of fears that they would be sexually abused by the raiders. The capture of Rajouri from the raiders is commemorated on 13 April, and a monument was erected to honour the incident in the town.

Mirpur

After the Indian army repelled the Pashtun raiders from near Srinagar on 25 November, the raiders turned to Mirpur, in present-day Azad Kashmir. Political scientist Christopher Snedden writes of unverifiable allegations that 20,000 non-Muslims were killed on and shortly after 25 November in Mirpur, and a further 2500 were abducted. In the district of Mirpur and nearby regions of Poonch, Hindu and Sikh women were also raped and abducted. November 25 is now commemorated as "Mirpur Day" in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Population figures

The table below compares the 1941 percentage of Muslim population with the present percentage for the Indian-administered part of the Jammu province and gives figures for estimated 'loss' of Muslims, due to deaths as well as migration.

Region 1941 Population 1941 Muslim proportion 2011 Muslim proportion Loss of Muslims (est)
Jammu District 431,362 39.6% 7.1% 151,010
Kathua District 177,672 25.3% 10.4% 29,567
Udhampur District (inc. Chenani) 306,013 42.7% 41.5% 5,975
Reasi District 257,903 68.1% 58.4% 59,804
Jammu province (exc. Poonch and Mirpur) 1,172,950 44.5% 27.9% 246,356
Poonch jagir 421,828 90.0% 90.4%
Present day district map of Jammu and Kashmir

Scholar Ian Copland tries to estimate how many Muslims might have been killed in the Jammu violence based on demographic data. If the headcount figure of 333,964 refugees from the Indian-administered parts of the state is used to calculate an estimate, one ends up with a surplus rather than a deficit. However, Justice Yusuf Saraf estimates that 100,000 Jammu refugees returned to their homes in 1949–1950. If we deduct this 100,000 from the original headcount figure, the estimate of Muslims killed would be a few tens of thousands.

The table below compares the 1941 percentage of 'Hindu & Sikh' population (H/S population) with that in 1951 for the areas of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir (comprising 89 per cent of the Mirpur District, 60 per cent of the Poonch Jagir and 87 per cent of the Muzaffarabad District).

Region 1941 Population 1941 H/S proportion 1951 Population 1951 H/S proportion Loss of Hindus/Sikhs (est)
Mirpur District 386,655 19.6% 371,459
Poonch Jagir 421,828 10.0% 293,723
Muzaffarabad District 264,671 7.1% 220,971
Azad Kashmir Districts 1,073,154 12.7% 886,153 0.09% 113,210

See also

Notes

  1. Christopher Snedden writes of unverifiable allegations of 20,000 non-Muslims killed in Mirpur.
  2. According to the accounts of refugees, the Maharaja was "in person commanding all the forces which were ethnically cleansing the Muslims".
  3. Ved Bhasin (17 November 2015), Jammu 1947, Kashmir Life: "Another incident that I recall is about Mr Mehr Chand Mahajan who told a delegation of Hindus who met him in the palace when he arrived in Jammu that now when the power is being transferred to the people they should better demand parity. When one of them associated with National Conference asked how can they demand parity when there is so much difference in population ratio. Pointing to the Ramnagar rakh below, where some bodies of Muslims were still lying he said “the population ratio too can change”.
  4. To quote 10 August 1948 report published in The Times:

    "237,000 Muslims were systematically exterminated – unless they escaped to Pakistan along the border – by the forces of the Dogra State headed by the Maharaja in person and aided by Hindus and Sikhs. This happened in October 1947, five days before the Pathan invasion and nine days before the Maharaja’s accession to India."

    The number of 237,000 was out of 411,000 Muslims said to have lived in the 'eastern Jammu' province. No calculations for the exact figure were given and the figure was not broken down into deaths and escapes. The 'Special Correspondent' that authored the report is later identified as Frederick Paul Mainprice, the former Assistant Political Agent of the Gilgit Agency, who worked as a Deputy Secretary for the Pakistan government during 1948–49 "specialising on the Kashmir problem".
  5. Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood 2005, p. 153: "None of these figures, however, are authoritative.... And the Times man, too, seems to have harboured Pakistani sympathies and, more importantly, offers no clues as to the source of his information."
  6. These figures are notional. They represent the number of Muslims lost to the state, due to either deaths or out-migration, so that the 2011 demographic percentage could have been obtained. It is derived by multiplying the 1941 population figure by the factor (1941 percentage – 2011 percentage)/(100 – 2011 percentage). If there was in-migration of Muslims or if the Muslim population grew at faster rate than the rest, these figures would be underestimates. If there was in-migration of non-Muslims, these figures would be overestimates.
  7. The 1947 Jammu district is now divided into Jammu and Samba districts
  8. The 1947 Udhampur district is now divided into Ramban, Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar districts
  9. The 1947 Reasi district is now divided into Reasi and Rajouri districts
  10. An even higher figure of 500,000 Muslim refugees was reported in Dawn on 2 January 1951. Scholar Ilyas Chattha has claimed that over 1 million Muslims were uprooted owing to the violence. Evidently, such high figures are not supported by the demographic data.
  11. Jammu and Kashmir government has claimed that 200,000 refugees returned.
  12. Figures from the 1951 census of Pakistan. They only cover the areas that came under Pakistani control.
  13. Mirpur and Poonch were part of the Jammu province in the princely state whereas Muzaffarabad was part of the Kashmir province.

References

  1. Copland, The Abdullah Factor, p. 254 (citation 119): "... the census reveals that the Muslim population of Jammu dropped (as a result of emigration, genocide and other factors) from 61 per cent to 38 per cent between 1941 and 1961."
  2. ^ Ved Bhasin (17 November 2015). "Jammu 1947". Kashmir Life.
  3. ^ Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath 2009, p. 179, 183.
  4. Chattha, The Long Shadow of 1947 2016, p. 150.
  5. ^ Noorani, A.G. (25 February 2012). "Horrors of Partition". Frontline. Vol. 29, no. 4.
  6. ^ Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris 2015, p. 167.
  7. ^ Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu? 2001.
  8. Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath 2009, pp. 182, 183; Chattha, The Long Shadow of 1947 2016, p. 149
  9. ^ Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History 2013, p. 56.
  10. ^ Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir 2012, p. 97.
  11. 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.
  12. Bhattacharya, What Price Freedom 2013, pp. 25–27.
  13. Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History (2013), p. 44.
  14. Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India 2010, pp. 105–106;Nawaz 2008, pp. 119–120
  15. Das Gupta, Jammu and Kashmir 2012, pp. 90–91.
  16. Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History 2013, p. 43.
  17. Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India 2010, pp. 105–106.
  18. Nawaz 2008, p. 120.
  19. Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 2015, p. 64: "Hari Singh, it may be said to his credit, was a liberal-minded ruler when he ascended the throne and remained so till 1931 when to his great misfortune, the political awakening among Muslims touched great heights and led to the demand for responsible government... Hari Singh was prepared to be liberal; he was prepared to give better treatment to his Muslim subjects than they had received before, but he was not prepared for radical political reforms."
  20. Abdullah, Flames of Chinar 1993, p. 91: "The Maharaja had always appeared to be free from religious prejudices. He was close to his Muslim courtiers especially Nawab Khusro Jung, Abdul Rahman Afandi and Sahibzada Noor Mohammad. But things took a drastic turn at the time when the shuddhi and tabligh movements gathered force.... the Maharaja moved closer to the Arya Samaj camp."
  21. Jha, Rival Versions of History 1996, pp. 54–55: "Two-fifths of his state forces and the majority of his police were Muslims. The Chief of Staff--the second in command--of the state forces was a Muslim, as was the chief of police in Jammu."
  22. Ankit, Henry Scott 2010.
  23. Ankit, October 1947 2010, p. 9.
  24. Parkash, Dewan Ram (1948), Fight for Kashmir, New Delhi: Tagore Memorial Publications, p. 32: A State government press release dated 16 October 1947 stated, "The State has already exposed the canard that the army in Jammu consisted only of Sikhs and Dogras by pointing out that the force is mixed in composition and commanded by Brigadier Khuda Baksh."
  25. Amanullah Khan, Free Kashmir 1970, p. 92: "One day when I came back from my morning prayers, I was told at home that Mian Aziz, brother of Mian Abdul Rashid, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu had come to my house and left a message for me to see him."
  26. Lok Sabha (January 1963), Lok Sabha Debates, Volume 12, Issues 27–31, Lok Sabha Secretariat, p. 5965: Shri Kirit Bikram Deb Burman: Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
    (a) whether it is a fact that Ex-Inspector General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir State has migrated to Pakistan and his name is Mian Abdul Rashid; and
    (b) whether the said Ex-Inspector General has been appointed intelligence Chief of Azad Kashmir?
    The Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Shri Datar):
    (a) Yes.
    (b) The Government of India have no information. The Pakistan press has, however, denied this report.
  27. Jha, Rival Versions of History 1996, p. 14.
  28. Jha, Rival Versions of History 1996, pp. 15–16.
  29. Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath 2009, p. 179.
  30. Jha, Rival Versions of History 1996, p. 10; Jha, The Origins of a Dispute 2003, p. 11
  31. Ankit, Henry Scott 2010, p. 44.
  32. Jha, The Origins of a Dispute (2003), p. 19: " Scott, in fact, pointed out in his report to London that Kashmir had remained free of communal trouble despite the fact that the state troops had escorted 100,000 Muslims through Jammu territory on their way to Pakistan, an equal number of Sikhs and Hindus going the other way and that Poonch had become a temporary place of refuge for around 60,000 refugees, mainly Hindus and Sikhs from west Punjab.".
  33. Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood 2005, p. 143.
  34. ^ Puri, Across the Line of Control 2012, pp. 25–26.
  35. Talbot, Pakistan: A Modern History 1998, pp. 115–116, note 90.
  36. Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath 2009, pp. 180, 182.
  37. ^ Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath 2009, p. 183.
  38. Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood 2005, p. 156.
  39. Bhasin, Ved (17 November 2015), Jammu 1947, Kashmir Life, The curfew, it appeared, was meant only to check the movement of Muslims.
  40. ^ Ahmad, Khalid Bashir (5 November 2014), "circa 1947: A Long Story", Kashmir Life
  41. "Document Twenty". The second assassination of Gandhi? by Ram Puniyani. Anamika Pub & Distributors. 2003. pp. 91, 92. ISBN 9788174951489.
  42. Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath 2009, p. 182, 183.
  43. Copland, The Abdullah Factor, p. 244.
  44. Hassan, Amtul (2006). Impact of Partition: Refugees in Pakistan: Struggle for Empowerment and State's Response. Regional Centre for Strategic Studies. p. 58. ISBN 9788173046988.
  45. Dutta, Madhusree; Flavia; Adarkar, Neera (1996). The Nation, the State, and Indian Identity. Popular Prakashan. p. 145. ISBN 9788185604091.
  46. Hajari, Nisid (9 June 2015). Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 209. ISBN 9780547669243.
  47. Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood 2005, pp. 153–154.
  48. Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History 2013, pp. 52–53.
  49. ^ Copland, State, Community and Neighbourhood 2005, p. 153.
  50. ^ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 2015, p. 133.
  51. Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History 2013, pp. 55, 330.
  52. MAINPRICE PAPERS, South Asian Studies Archive, University of Cambridge, retrieved 31 March 2017
  53. Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu? 2001, p. 121.
  54. Chattha, Partition and its Aftermath 2009, p. 185.
  55. ^ Snedden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu? 2001, p. 125.
  56. ^ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 2015, p. 481: "Towards the middle of 1949, a movement for return started on a small scale which gained momentum by the end of 1950. A fair estimate of the returnees is about a hundred thousand. Sheikh Abdullah's Government re-settled them on their abandoned properties, advanced taqqavi loans and appointed a special staff to look after their problems."
  57. Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 2015, p. 133: "In the 1970 elections for A.K. President as well as the Legislative Assembly, the number of voters from Jammu province, residing in Pakistan, was 2,29,152. The population percentage of voters for Pakistan elections which were held in the same year was about 50%. It would take the population figures of Jammu refugees in Pakistan in 1970 to about five lakhs."
  58. Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris 2015, pp. 164–167.
  59. ^ Bhatia 2020, pp. 80–82.
  60. Maini, K.D. (12 April 2015). "The day Rajouri was recaptured". dailyexcelsior.com. Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  61. Puri 2010, p. 28.
  62. Puri 2010, p. 30.
  63. ^ Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History 2013, p. 28.
  64. "C-1 Population by religious community (2011 Census)". Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  65. Chattha, The Long Shadow of 1947 2016, p. 145.
  66. Jammu & Kashmir, 1947–50: An Account of Activities of First Three Years of Sheikh Abdullah's Government, Printed at the Ranbir Government Press, 1951, p. 90
  67. Snedden, Kashmir: The Unwritten History 2013, p. 161.
  68. Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris 2015: "By 1951, of the former approximately 114,000 non-Muslims who in 1941 had lived in areas that later came to comprise Azad Kashmir... only a paltry 790 non-Muslims remained."

Bibliography

  • Since republished as Chattha, Ilyas (2011). Partition and Locality: Violence, Migration and Development in Gujranwala and Sialkot 1947–1961. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199061723.

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