Beyond Kashmir Valley: The Forgotten Ethnic Cleansing In Jammu's Doda

The erstwhile Doda district, now split into Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban, was a remote, mountainous expanse, bordered by Himachal Pradesh, Udhampur, Ladakh, and Anantnag. Its rugged terrain rendered it largely inaccessible, with only mule tracks and footpaths linking many of its isolated villages. While technically not a part of Kashmir, the region found itself deeply entangled in the "Kashmir jihad" from the 90s.

The Pakistani establishment was quick to recognise the strategic potential of Doda as an ideal guerrilla base. With Indian forces still focused on consolidating their position in the Valley, Doda remained largely neglected, with little military presence (in 1991 it had only five companies of BSF and CRPF).

Spanning 11,691 sq km, it was nearly the size of the Valley and comprised 26% of J&K's forested area. Doda's rugged, densely wooded mountains rendered operations exhausting and troop-intensive, whilst enabling militants to operate freely and carve out 'liberated zones'.

The region's demography only added to its vulnerability with Muslims forming 57.3% (nearly 90% of them Kashmiri), Hindus 42.22%, and Scheduled Castes 8.74% of the population as per the 1981 census. Lastly, its location along the vital NH-1A and border with Kathua and Udhampur would allow militants to disrupt India's main lifeline to the Valley.

The region harboured only a fraction of militants when compared to the Kashmir valley. Yet, it would go on to witness a brutal and largely underreported campaign of ethnic cleansing which saw at least 310 members of the minority community being massacred between 1993 and 2001 by pro-Pakistani militants.

Eventually, it reached a point where the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that some local Muslims, emboldened by the prospect of imminent azadi and in anticipation of a Hindu exodus akin to that of the Kashmiri Pandits, had already divided Hindu homes and lands amongst themselves.

The killings, aimed specifically at Hindus, as General G.D. Bakshi argues, were not isolated incidents but part of a calculated strategy to alter the demographic landscape south of the Chenab River. In 1950, UN mediator Owen Dixon proposed partitioning J&K by drawing the border north of the Chenab River, merging Muslim-majority areas like Doda, Rajouri, and Poonch with the Valley and holding a plebiscite there.

By engineering a Hindu exodus, the aim was to tilt the population balance to serve future separatist narratives, particularly in scenarios involving proposed territorial partitions of the region.

The global focus on the Kashmir conflict rarely extends to its impact on non-Muslim minorities in the region. What little attention is given falls on the fate of the Kashmiri Pandits and their exodus from the valley. The fate of Jammu, in general and Doda, in particular, receives negligible recognition and suffers from profound neglect.

The Doda Massacres: A Timeline of Targeted Violence

Militancy in Doda was slower to arrive as compared to the Kashmir valley. Whilst there were sporadic incidents such as the attack on Minister BA Kitchloo's house and on his PSO or the abduction of a French engineer, the region was relatively quiet for a large part of 1990 and 1991, though some youth had gone across the border for training.

Initially, militants from the Valley infiltrated Doda primarily to evade Indian Army operations, utilising the inaccessible region as a sanctuary for rest and as a training ground. The history of militancy in Doda has been documented adequately in extant literature such as in the works of Col Harjeet Singh and General GD Bakshi but is beyond the scope of this article.

The cycle of targeted killings against minorities in Doda commenced on 19 December 1992, with the assassination of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) district general secretary Santosh Kumar Thakur, outside his residence in Nagri.

On 18 February 1993, terrorists abducted Mohan Singh from his home in Bijrani and subjected him to brutal torture. Afterwards, his dead body was tied to the back of a horse and then hung near the cooperative store in Bhagwah.

That same day, Kashmira Singh was abducted from his residence in Bhaderwah. His corpse was recovered six days later from a local canal bearing severe signs of torture. Two days later Diwan Chand, a BJP worker, was shot dead.

On 14 April 1993, the nephew of Janata Dal leader and former BJP member Mast Nath Yogi, an advocate for the intervention of the Army in curbing militancy in Doda, was gunned down in Bhaderwah, in what appeared to be an attempt on Yogi himself.

Not even a month later on 10 May, Satish Bhandari, the leader of the Hindu Raksha Samiti, was assassinated in Doda. In late June, three Hindu youths accused of being informants were abducted in Bhaderwah and subjected to torture. Whilst one managed to escape on June 30, the other two were executed.

The worst, however, was yet to come. On 14 August 1993, the day of Pakistan's Independence, a passenger bus from Kishtwar en route to Jammu was intercepted by five armed militants. The attackers forcibly separated the Hindu male passengers and diverted the vehicle onto the secluded Sarthal route, where in a chilling act of premeditated violence, they opened fire indiscriminately.

The militants killed fourteen people on the spot and gravely injured two others, one of whom later succumbed in hospital. The attack, attributed to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen jihadists led by Arif Hussain, the son of a local government official, would prove to be the first of many mass killings to come.

By 1994, the area nearly as large as the entire Kashmir valley had just been allocated two battalions of the Army, seven of the BSF and one of CRPF and as a result, the Islamic insurgency in Doda escalated into a full-blown crisis.

In May, two militants were gunned down when they attempted to attack the homes of Kartar Singh and Man Singh in Goha and they resisted. With no reassurance from the local administration and fearing reprisals, 822 residents from Goha and neighbouring villages of Kaljugasar, Seeru and Kuthera in Gundoh tehsil fled to Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.

On 20th May, a Muslim mob nearly 2,000 strong from nearby areas marched four to five hours to Goha, set fire to thirteen houses belonging to Kartar Singh's relatives, and carried away the body of one slain militant.

On 27 May, BJP leader Balwant Singh narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, though his bodyguard sustained injuries. The same day, jihadists killed three Dalit brothers in Hadyal-Grabha. In Sumber, three people were reportedly beheaded by militants.

On 30 May, BJP district vice-president Swami Raj Katal (who had survived an assassination the previous year) was gunned down near Bhaderwah, along with two others, including a woman.

On 7 June, BJP tehsil president Ruchir Kumar was shot dead by three militants armed with AK-47s. This sparked communal unrest in Bhaderwah and Muslim homes in Vasak Dera were attacked resulting in one death and injuries to four people. In retaliation, ten Hindu homes were ransacked and destroyed in Qila Mohalla, a Muslim-majority area.

Less than a week later, a junior engineer with the Public Works Department in Zealana was murdered.

In response to the deteriorating situation, BJP leaders started a protest from June 23 as a part of their "Save Doda" Agitation demanding that Doda be declared a "disturbed area". Members ranging from Party President L.K. Advani to MPs and MLAs to party workers courted arrest as part of a "jail bharo programme".

On 18 September, six Hindus from Batholi village in Gandoh were massacred, and on 19 December, BJP activist Sumit Kumar was shot dead in Pushal village.

Estimates indicated that the number of jihadi militants in the region had surged to 800–900, spearheaded initially by a group of 20–25 Pakistani infiltrators. Between 1990 and 1995, militants further targeted and desecrated at least 14 temples across the region besides targeting a large number of government buildings and 95 schools.

Resistance, Retaliation, and State Response

The local Hindu population, however, refused to remain passive in the face of militant brutality. In Monda village near Bhaderwah, an enraged mob torched the house of an alleged militant, killing his sister and injuring his father. In some areas the minority community began arming itself for self-defence.

A contemporary article in India Today quotes a Hindu resident of Monda stating "We will die fighting rather than migrate". A sentiment echoed by the BJP district president Manmohan Gupta who declared, "We will not satisfy the militants by migrating from here. Even if we are forced to, we won't do it without a fight."

The spirit was visible even in those displaced to Chamba in May. By 30th June, most had managed to return to their villages but demanded guns for protection. Panthers Party leader Bhim Singh describing his visit to the refugee camps where he encouraged them to return to their home writes "They also took an Oath to go back to their homes and fight against the militants. Their only demand at that time was guns for self-defence"

To curb the exodus of Hindus amidst rising militancy, the government revived the Village Defence Committee (VDC) scheme arming vulnerable communities and ex-servicemen in high-risk villages. By the end of 1995, around 330 villages in Doda district were brought under VDC coverage.

Additionally, the force levels were raised in Doda with CI Force (Delta) being raised in September 1994 to facilitate effective counter insurgency operations. It had been allocated four Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Battalions, six BSF Battalions and 35 companies of CRPF.

As a result, by early 1996 a number of prominent terrorist commanders were eliminated. Amongst those neutralised were Zulkar Nain, a District Commander of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT); Raja Daud Manhas, District Commander of the Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA); and Javed Qureshi, the Provincial Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). These eliminations considerably disrupted the tanzeems, yet the brutal massacres continued.

Strategic Vacuum and Renewed Terror

On the night of 5-6th January, 15 Hindus were massacred in Barsala reportedly in retaliation for the suspected role of a local Hindu Swami Raj acting as an informant for security forces. Thereafter, 9 villagers were killed at Kamlari on the night of 8/9 June and another 13 in Sarodhar on 25 July.

Despite this, the force levels in Doda were subsequently scaled down with the deinduction of six BSF battalions. According to Gen. G.D. Bakshi, this development coincided with a strategic shift by the ISI to extend militancy beyond the Kashmir Valley into the Jammu region including Doda. An estimated 60–70 foreign militants were infiltrated into Doda to reignite the insurgency in 1997–98.

In October 1997, 6 VDC members were killed at Kud Dhar. 1998 witnessed a series of massacres by the newly reinvigorated jihadist outfits. On June 19, 1998 five terrorists near Champaneri village targeted a wedding party awaiting transport. After forcibly separating the men from the women, the jihadists mowed down 25 of the 32 men present with gunfire.

A month later, on July 19 in Kalaban, 23 Hindus were killed in another targeted attack. Hardly a week afterwards, on July 27, 16 Hindus were massacred in Horna/Keshwan, a region adjacent to Kishtwar.

The violence was not limited to Doda, with the year witnessing equally gruesome killings of minorities in Prankote, Dakikote and Thub in neighbouring Udhampur and also in Wandhama. Moreover, the acts of terror spilled over into the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh with four herb collectors being killed by militants from Bhaderwah on June 27 1998. However, the worst was yet to come in the form of the Chamba massacres.

On the night of August 2–3, 1998, militants crossed over from Doda into Chamba district, targeting labour camps along the Baragarh–Pangi road. At Kalaban, after separating the Muslim labourers from the rest, militants tied the Hindus with ropes of their tents, before executing them either by gunfire or slitting their throats.

They then advanced towards the Satrundi and killed 11 more labourers whilst injuring 12 others. They also abducted nine labourers as porters; three of them who were Muslims were later released. A mass cremation was subsequently held on August 4 for 35 victims in the villages of Teesa and Shimba.

The massacre was followed by tensions between the Hindu Gaddi and Muslim Gujjar grazing communities. On August 18, three Gaddis were abducted, tortured, and killed after a Gujjar who owed them ₹56,000 informed militants of their alleged role in the recovery of an arms cache buried by them.

Kargil and the Final Wave

The 1999 Pakistani intrusion in Kargil and the subsequent Operation Vijay would prove to have grave and unexpected consequences for the region far in the hinterland. Troops of the 9 Sector had to be withdrawn from Kishtwar and reassigned to Rear Area Security duties in the Rajouri-Poonch sector in anticipation of potential Pakistani offensives there.

This abrupt relocation and decrease in force levels was exploited by the militants. The dismantling of the CI grid allowed them to target and eliminate a large number of Army sources and informants, many of whom met gruesome ends with some even being skinned alive.

On 20 July 1999, terrorists massacred 15 Hindus, including eight women, in Liyota village. In response, 9 Sector was re-inducted into Kishtwar, though with a reduced strength of two Rashtriya Rifles battalions later reinforced by the 5th Battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry. Despite the depleted numbers and the diversion of forces for over three months, a total of 43 terrorists were eliminated during that year.

The year 2000 witnessed a wave of attacks specifically targeting the Hindu minority. Gen GD Bakshi, in his book "Kishtwar Cauldron", mentions six mass killings, details of which are as under:

• 01 August 2000: Five Hindus killed in Murlakot

• 01 August 2000: Twelve Hindus massacred in Kunda.

• 01 August 2000: Four Hindus in Dhammota.

• 02 August 2000: Eight Hindus killed in Kiar.

• 21 November 2000: Four Hindus killed in Khanpura.

• 24 November 2000: Five Hindus in Patimahal.

The barbarity persisted into the next year with a series of horrendous massacres taking place. The first major massacre in 2001 was on May 10th when terrorists after taking local villagers hostage demanded that the local police post surrender its weapons. The policemen refused to do so, following which seven hostages were executed and three wounded.

This was followed by the killing of four village residents in a pasture above Tagood village on July 20 and the massacre of eight others near Cheerji the next day. But the worst incident was the Sarhot Dhar massacre on August 3-4, 2001.

The victims were a group of 22 Dalits and Rajputs from Ladder who had taken their cattle to the high-altitude pasture of Sharot Dhar. That night, whilst they were resting in two separate dhokes, they were approached by a group of terrorists who looted their belongings and then forced them to line up.

In a sadistic turn of events, militants mocked their victims before the massacre. A terrorist taunted a victim, asking "if he knew what the gun was?" and then "if he knew what came out of guns?". When the victim replied, "bullets," the militant sneered, "Have a close look at a bullet," and opened fire indiscriminately mowing down and killing 13. Five of those present managed to survive the ordeal by feigning death and hiding amongst the bodies.

In 2002, sporadic attacks continued. On January 6, eight Hindus were killed in Luddu and Ramsu and on April 9, five family members including two women and three children were killed in Nagni, Doda.

Kulhand: the Final Ordeal

The last major massacre would happen in 2006 in Kulhand and Tharva. Disguised in fake Indian Army uniforms on 30 April, terrorists encircled the area and ordered residents to assemble at the residence of the village headman. There they were lined up and executed at point-blank range with the terrorists firing until their ammunition ran out. Amongst the 22 dead was a three-year-old girl and the headman himself.

Days later on May 13, terrorists targeted a procession in Doda town, jointly organised by BJP workers and residents displaced from Kulhand with grenades killing two BJP workers and injuring four others. The attack was straight out of the playbook of the Dessa massacre of May 1998, when terrorists ambushed a group of mourners carrying the bodies of four slain Village Defence Committee (VDC) members back to their village, resulting in the deaths of five more.

Much like in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre in 2025, terrorist outfits have claimed many of these massacres and assassinations. When security forces killed the perpetrator of the Sarhot Dhar massacre, the last entry in his 'log book' was found to be, "The warriors of the Lashkar-e-Toiba have killed 19 unbelievers. This is our challenge to the Indian government."

The diary of Abdul Rashid Islahi, district commander of the HM makes the terrorist's intentions to intimidate Hindus and force them to migrate clear "District Secretary Santosh was eliminated which has created havoc in the Indian government. The BJP and non Muslims are badly demoralised now. Bansi Lal of the BJP, from Bhaderwah was killed after this"

Lashkar propaganda such as Muhammad Tahir Naqqash's 2001 volume Ghaziyan-i-Saf-Shikan ("Noble Warriors and Battlefronts") contains a chilling chapter glorifying attacks on what it calls "Shiv Sena thugs", a label it broadly applies to BJP workers/leaders, civilians, and VDC members alike, to justify its communal massacres.

It is an account by Ghazi Muhammad Shafiq Abu Saad of Lahore, who allegedly spent three years "fighting Shiv Sena operatives in Jammu." It includes descriptions of attacks on Hindus for denying militants shelter whilst boasting of executions carried out with statements such as: "Abu Abdur Rehman Ashraf walked up to the injured man and slit his throat with his extraordinarily large dagger that, up until now, has beheaded ten Hindus."

The communally charged narrative invokes phrases like "Hindu's impure blood". In another account, the jihadists claim to have executed three Hindu leaders for resisting them, and demanded they recite the kalma whilst offering to "forgive you all your (their) sins." Upon refusal, they claim to have slit their throats. The book also describes the looting of Hindu homes in villages whilst referring to the plunder as "war booty."

Even around the 2006 Kulhand and Tharva massacres, wireless messages of terrorist commanders had been intercepted asking cadres to selectively target Hindus.

Echoes in the Present: Lingering Shadows and Resurgent Threats

Whilst no major large-scale massacre has occurred in the Doda region since then, communal tensions continue to simmer with sporadic targeted killings and clashes taking place. The recent attacks in Jammu and Kashmir such as the June 9, 2024 ambush in Reasi, where terrorists opened fire on a bus of Hindu pilgrims, killing nine including a two-year-old child, and the 2025 Pahalgam massacre signal the danger of a resurgence of such attacks on "soft targets".

On November 7, 2024, VDG members Kuldip Kumar and Nazir Ahmed were found dead in Kishtwar with their eyes mutilated by terrorists from the "Kashmir Tigers" who claimed responsibility, warning others against joining VDGs. Previously, grazier Maan Singh Gaadi was strangled with a wire, graphic images of which were later recovered from the phones of Pakistani terrorists killed in the September 2024 Basantgarh encounter.

It is, thus, imperative that the hard-won peace in this region is not taken for granted. It should be ensured that the region does not have to relive the dark days of the nineties and early 2000s and can march on the path of progress and prosperity.

Moreover, the region's story should no longer be confined to footnotes in history but must be given its rightful place in our national memory and conscience.