1947–1948 Rajouri massacre

Part of the First Kashmir War
Date	7 November 1947–12 April 1948
Location	Rajouri 33°23′N 74°19′E
Goals	Retributive genocide
Methods	Rioting, pogrom, arson, enslavement, forced conversions, looting
Casualties
Death(s)	30,000+ Hindus/Sikhs
Rajouri Location within Jammu and Kashmir

The 1947–1948 Rajouri Massacres were the killing of thousands of residents and refugees in the Rajouri tehsil in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, by the Azad Kashmir Forces and Pashtun tribal militia during the First Kashmir War. The "siege" of the town of Rajouri began on 7 November 1947 and ended on the 12 April 1948 when the Indian Army recaptured it. The massacre is commemorated annually in Rajouri and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Background

Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir

At the time of the Partition of India in 1947, princely states were left with the options of joining India or Pakistan or remaining independent. Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, preferred to remain independent. All 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 in the Jammu province of the state. It was closely allied with the All-India Muslim League, which was set to inherit Pakistan.

On 6 October, the Poonch Rebellion officially began. The Jammu and Kashmir State Forces, which were distributed in penny pockets along the border, were ordered to consolidate in towns in garrisons. War officially broke out in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 October, with a tribal invasion from Pakistan via Muzaffarabad and Baramulla. Looting and killing were widespread.

Rajouri and Poonch witnessed a mass influx of Hindu and Sikh refugees from the west trying to escape the raiders. Rajouri's population swelled from 5,000 to over 40,000. Poonch experienced an increase from 10,000 to almost 50,000 people.

Events

Rajouri was the western part of the Riasi district in 1947 (map by National Geographic)

On 26-27 October, the Maharaja acceded to India, requesting armed assistance. India airlifted troops to defend the Kashmir Valley. However, it was not until 13 November, when the raiders were cleared off Uri, that the Indian troops could pay attention to the situation in the Jammu Division. Until then the State Forces had to fend for themselves. The forces lacked artillery (which had been transferred to the British Indian Army for World War II) and they were also short of ammunition (which had not been replenished since the departure of British on 15 August).

Rajauri was recaptured on 12 April 1948 by the 19 Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army under the command of Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane. Rane, despite being wounded, launched a bold tank assault by conveying the tanks over the Tawi river bed in order to avoid the road blocks along the main road. When the Indian Army entered the town, the captors had fled, having destroyed most of the town and killing the majority of its inhabitants.

Aftermath

After recapturing Rajouri and the arrival of the Indian Army, some 1,500 refugees that had fled to the hills, including women and children, returned to the town. The capture of Rajouri and the Rajouri Massacre was followed by the capture of Mirpur by Pakistani backed tribals and the subsequent Mirpur Massacre of Hindus and Sikhs.

The ceasefire line at the end of the war ran to the west of Rajouri district.

April 13 every year is now celebrated as Vijay Diwas in Rajouri.

See also

• Persecution of Hindus
• Persecution of Sikhs
• 1947 Mirpur Massacre
• 1947 Jammu massacres
• Partition of India

Bibliography

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