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{{short description|Fatal shooting of 35 Sikhs in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Chittisinghpura massacre
| image =
| caption =
| location = Chittisinghpora, [[Anantnag district]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]]
| target = [[Sikh]]s
| date = 20 March 2000
| time =
| timezone =
| type = [[Mass murder]]
| fatalities = 35
| injuries =
| perps = Undetermined
}}

The '''Chittisinghpura massacre''' refers to the [[mass murder]] of 35 villagers of the [[Sikhism|Sikh]] faith that was carried out on 20 March 2000 in the Chittisinghpora (Chittisinghpura) village of [[Anantnag district]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]] on the eve of the US president [[Bill Clinton]]'s state visit to India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/684632.stm|title=Kashmir killings overshadow Clinton visit|last=|first=|date=21 March 2000|website=BBC News|access-date=2020-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/massacre-of-36-sikhs-overshadows-clintons-tour-282443.html|title=Massacre of 36 Sikhs overshadows Clinton's tour|date=2000-03-22|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30253665.ece|title=The massacre at Chattisinghpora|last=Swami|first=Praveen|date=1 April 2000|website=Frontline|language=en|access-date=2020-03-04}}</ref>

The identity of the perpetrators remains unknown. The Indian government asserts that the massacre was conducted by Pakistan-based [[militant Islam|militant]] group [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] (LeT).<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/mar/22/india.kashmir Killing of Sikhs clouds Clinton visit to India], [[The Guardian]], 200-03-22</ref> Other accounts accuse the [[Indian Army]] of the massacre.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://kashmirlife.net/the-lone-survivor-nanak-singh-2237/|title=The lone survivor: Nanak Singh|date=2012-03-26|website=Kashmir Life|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-10-29}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/names-of-killers-still-reverberate-in-my-ears-19-years-after-chittisinghpora-massacre-lone-survivor-recounts-night-that-killed-35-sikhs-6299441.html|title='Names of killers still reverberate in my ears': 19 years after Chittisinghpora massacre, lone survivor recounts night that killed 35 Sikhs|website=Firstpost|access-date=2019-10-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/banyan/2010/08/24/rift-in-the-valley|title=Rift in the valley|date=2010-08-24|work=The Economist|access-date=2019-10-29|issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://countercurrents.org/2018/03/india-owes-answers-for-the-killings-of-36-sikhs-and-14-others-in-kashmir|title=India Owes Answers For The Killings Of 36 Sikhs And 14 Others In Kashmir|date=2018-03-19|website=Countercurrents|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-20}}</ref>

==Killings==
{{Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir}}
Wearing Indian Army [[Combat uniform|fatigues]], the killers arrived into the village in military vehicles in two groups at separate ends of the village where the two [[Gurdwara|gurdwaras]] were located, while the villagers had been celebrating the [[Hola Mahalla]] festival.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bhat|first=Aamir Ali|date=2018-03-20|title=Chittisinghpora Massacre: When shadowy gunners in army fatigues widowed 30 Sikh women {{!}} Free Press Kashmir|url=https://freepresskashmir.news/2018/03/20/chittisinghpora-massacre-when-shadowy-gunners-in-army-fatigues-widowed-30-sikh-women/|access-date=2020-08-27|language=en-GB}}</ref> They ordered them to line up in front of the gurdwaras and opened fire, killing thirty-five people.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/names-of-killers-still-reverberate-in-my-ears-19-years-after-chittisinghpora-massacre-lone-survivor-recounts-night-that-killed-35-sikhs-6299441.html|title='Names of killers still reverberate in my ears': 19 years after Chittisinghpora massacre, lone survivor recounts night that killed 35 Sikhs|website=Firstpost|access-date=2019-10-29}}</ref>

The massacre was a turning point in the [[Kashmir conflict|Kashmir issue]], where Sikhs had usually been spared from militant violence.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DEED6113AF932A15750C0A9669C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/C/Clinton,%20Bill 34 Massacred In Sikh Town In Kashmir], [[The New York Times]], 2000-03-21</ref> Following the killing, [[Sayeed Salahudeen|Syeed Salahudeen]], Pakistan-based leader of the largest Kashmiri militant group [[Hizbul Mujahideen|Hizbul-Mujahideen]], denounced the massacre, accusing India of it, and assured the Kashmiri Sikh community of the militants' support.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2000-03-22|title=Killing of Sikhs clouds Clinton visit to India|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/mar/22/india.kashmir|access-date=2021-05-11|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

After the massacre hundreds of Kashmiri Sikhs gathered in [[Jammu]] shouting anti Pakistan and anti Muslim slogans, criticising the Indian government for failing to protect the villagers, and demanding retaliation.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/2000/0403/india.singhpora.html Slaughter in Singhpora], [[TIME]], 2000-04-03</ref><ref name="Independent20000323">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=23 March 2000|title=Man arrested in connection with Sikh massacre|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/man-arrested-in-connection-with-sikh-massacre-282450.html|work=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=27 October 2010}}</ref>

==Perpetrators==
Survivors interviewed by journalists insisted that the perpetrators had looked and spoken "like people from South India" and had shouted pro-India slogans after the massacre.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

Five days after the killing, the [[Indian Army]] stopped and killed five people near [[Anantnag]], claiming they were Pakistani perpetrators of the massacre. However, reports surfaced that they were all local villagers. After a public outcry, the government ordered genetic identification of the victims in order to show that they were not related to local families, however the tissue samples sent to a genetic lab in Hyderabad turned out fake.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CNN.com - Kashmir DNA cover-up claims rejected - March 7, 2002|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/03/06/india.kashmir/|access-date=2021-05-11|website=edition.cnn.com}}</ref> A subsequent public inquiry revealed that the victims of the Indian Army killings were all random bystanders with no relation with the massacre.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CNN.com - 'Innocent civilians killed' in Kashmir cover-up - July 16, 2002|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/07/16/kashmir.incident/index.html|access-date=2019-10-29|website=edition.cnn.com}}</ref> According to Lt-General (Retd.) KS Gill, "army officers up to the rank of a captain were involved in the 'fake encounter'. They kept visiting Chhatisinghpura for routine 'checkups'. After obtaining full information about the Sikh, they lined them up and shot them dead one day."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalvillagespace.com/chhattisgarh-massacre-will-the-sikh-ever-see-justice/ |title=Chhattisgarh massacre : will the Sikh ever see justice? |last=Jaaved |first=Amjed |date=25 March 2021 |website=www.globalvillagespace.com |publisher=Global Village Space |access-date=29 June 2021 |quote=According to Lt-General (Retd.) KS Gill, army officers up to the rank of a captain were involved in the “fake encounter”. They kept visiting Chhatisinghpura for routine “checkups”. After obtaining full information about the Sikh, they lined them up and shot them dead one day.}}</ref>

In 2000, Indian authorities announced that Mohammad Suhail Malik, a nephew of Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder [[Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]], confessed while in Indian custody to participating in the attacks at the direction of Lashkar-e-Taiba. He repeated the claim in an interview with [[Barry Bearak]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' while still in Indian custody, although Bearak questioned the authenticity of the confession.<ref name="Bearak">{{citation|last=Bearak|first=Barry|title=A Kashmiri Mystery|date=2000-12-31|url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001231mag-kashmir.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|quote=The conversation was mostly in Urdu, once again a language I did not speak. I could study his eyes but not his phrasing or inflections, the little clues as to what was being held back in the privacy of his head. When we left, I asked Surinder Oberoi, my journalist friend, if he thought Malik was telling the truth.<br/>'Yes, I think so,' he answered after a pause. Then he added a cautionary shrug and a sentence that stopped after the words 'But you know. . . . '<br/>Malik showed no signs of physical abuse, but, as with Wagay, the torture of someone in his situation would not be unusual. Once, over a casual lunch, an Indian intelligence official told me that Malik had been 'intensively interrogated.' I asked him what that usually meant. 'You start with beatings, and from there it can go almost anywhere,' he said. Certainly, I knew what most Pakistanis would say of the confession -- that the teenager would admit to anything after persistent electrical prodding by the Indians. And it left me to surmise that if his interrogators had made productive use of pain, was it to get him to reveal the truth or to repeat their lies?|accessdate=2009-11-04}}</ref> In 2011, a Delhi court cleared Malik of the charges.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121106033915/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-10/india/29871318_1_pakistani-nationals-massacre-sikhs Sikhs' massacre in Chattisinghpora: Two Pakistanis acquitted]. "[[The Times of India]]," 10 August 2011.</ref>

In an introduction to a book written by [[Madeleine Albright]] titled ''The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (2006)'', [[Hillary Clinton]] accused "Hindu Militants" of perpetrating the act.<ref name="Times">[http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA2LzA1LzE5I0FyMDE0MDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom Clinton goofs up on J&K killings],''Times of India''</ref> This created a major incident, with both Hindu and Sikh groups expressing outrage. Clinton's office did not return calls seeking comment or clarification. The publishers, [[Harper Collins]], later acknowledged "a failure in the fact-checking process" but did not offer a retraction.<ref name="Times" />

In 2010, the Lashkar-e-Taiba associate [[David Headley]], who was arrested in connection with the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]], reportedly told the [[National Investigation Agency]] that the LeT carried out the Chittisinghpura massacre.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2010-10-25|title=Lashkar behind Sikh massacre in Kashmir in 2000, says Headley|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/lashkar-behind-sikh-massacre-in-kashmir-in-2000-says-headley/story-U1HSRGfXRKqZyzgeQoy1OI.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114013820/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lashkar-behind-Sikh-massacre-in-Kashmir-in-2000-says-Headley/Article1-617459.aspx|archive-date=2011-01-14|access-date=2020-03-20|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref> He is said to have identified an LeT militant named Muzzamil as part of the group which carried out the killings apparently to create communal tension just before Clinton's visit.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101026/j&k.htm#2 Chittisinghpura Massacre: Obama’s proposed visit makes survivors recall tragedy ]. The Tribune, Chandigarh. 25 October 2010.</ref>

In 2005, Sikh organizations such as the Bhai Kanahiya Jee Nishkam Seva Society demanded a deeper state inquiry into the details of the massacre<ref name="Tribune">[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20051112/j&k.htm#3 Sikhs want CBI probe into Chittisinghpura Massacre], ''tribuneindia.com''</ref> and for the inquiry to be made public. The state government ordered an inquiry into the massacre.

==In popular culture==
The massacre was depicted in a [[Bollywood]] film [[Adharm (2006 film)|''Adharm'']] ("Unholy") directed by [[Adeep Singh]].

==References==
<references/>

==See also==
*[[List of massacres in India]]
*[[Terrorism in Kashmir]]
*[[2002 Qasim Nagar massacre]]
*[[1998 Wandhama massacre]]
*[[Lashkar-e-Toiba]]

{{Sikhism}}

{{coord missing|Jammu and Kashmir}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chittisinghpura Massacre}}

[[Category:20th-century mass murder in India]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2000]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 2000]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2000]]
[[Category:2000 in India]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in India]]
[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Massacres of Sikhs]]
[[Category:March 2000 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Massacres of men]]
[[Category:Violence against men in Asia]]

Chittisinghpura massacre - Revision history

MartiAshley1795: added references and updated info for accuracy

Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

>Kashmiri: spelling