1986 Muktsar bus massacre

Muktsar Bus Massacre
Muktsar Bus Massacre
Part of Insurgency in Punjab
	Muktsar Bus stand Muktsar Bus stand (India)
Location	Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, India
Coordinates	30°17′N74°19′E / 30.29°N 74.31°E
Date	25 July 1986;37 years ago
Target	Hindus
Attack type	Mass shooting
Weapon	Assault rifles
Deaths	14 Hindus and 1 Sikh

Last updated April 21, 2024

1986 Muktsar Bus Massacre was a massacre of 14 Hindu and one Sikh bus-passenger by Khalistani militants.^[1] It occurred on 25 July 1986, when a bus was attacked by militants in which 15 people were shot dead in Muktsar in the northern state of Punjab, India.^[2]

Los Angeles Times reported that three men had boarded an express bus going from Muktsar, located in the erstwhile Faridkot district in the western Punjab to its destination Chandigarh. After travelling for approximately 10 miles after Muktsar, at a railway crossing the bus stopped and a fourth person boarded it. The four men started waving their weapons which included pistols and Sten guns, and ordered the ladies, children and people of the Sikh religion, who were profiled by their identification symbols turbans and long beards, to get down from the bus. The four men started shooting the remaining Hindu passengers still on the bus. It was reported that the passengers who were killed were all men belonging to the Hindu religion except one man, who was a Sikh with shaved beard. The number of injured passengers was seven.^[1]^[3] One of the injured man named Surjit Singh was another Sikh in the bus with shaved beard. Surjit was shot in the head and lost his vision but survived. His wife reportedly pleaded with the terrorists to spare them since they were Jat Sikhs as well, but she was ignored.^[4]

The separation of the passengers on religious grounds and the subsequent massacre of 14 Hindus, suggested that the massacre was a part of Sikh separatist Khalistan movement's campaign designed to divide the communities of Sikh and the Hindus.^[1]

In bus attack was a major terrorist incident in Punjab during the year 1986, worst being the 1986 Hoshiarpur Bus massacre. Los Angeles Times called the massacre as "one of the worst against the Hindu community during the more than five years" since that the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement had become active in Punjab. The state of Punjab had a Sikh population of 9 million and Hindu population of 7 million.^[1]

Objective

The goal of the terrorists behind the massacre was to drive out the seven million Hindus living in the state of Punjab and force the Sikhs living outside of the Punjab state to move in. This would have enabled the Sikh separatists to claim the Punjab state as a sovereign country of Khalistan.^[1]

Districts near the Indo-Pak border like Faridkot had the most intense campaign carried out by Militants to intimidate the local Hindus and had resulted in their mass exodus.^[1] Several thousand Hindu refugees from Punjab had already moved to New Delhi to escape the communal violence.^[2]

The India-Pakistan diplomatic relationship has come under strain due to the allegations from Indian diplomats about Pakistani intelligence agents supporting the Militants.^[1]

Aftermath

The police in Faridkot district had placed the district on curfew. After the incident of the killing of 15 people in Muktsar in July, Hindu-Sikh riots had broken out in western part of New Delhi, where a majority of Hindu refugees from Punjab lived. Five people were killed in those Riots.^[2]

Reactions

The terrorist attack was raised in the Parliament of India where it was condemned. The Punjab state government which consisted of moderate Sikhs also spoke against the incident. The five major political parties in Punjab state had called for businesses to remain closed in protest of the massacre.

The Punjab state government, convened an emergency meeting in Chandigarh and made an appeal to the citizens to "remain calm in the face of grave provocation and not to fall into the trap laid by anti-social elements wanting to throw the state into fratricidal bloodshed."^[1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalistan movement</span> Sikh separatist movement in the Punjab region

The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.

Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the people of India. Compared to other countries, India faces a wide range of terror groups. Terrorism found in India includes Islamic terrorism, ultranationalist terrorism, and left-wing terrorism India is one of the countries most impacted by terrorism.

The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a Sikh Khalistani militant organisation operating in the state of Punjab, India with prominent members based in Canada, United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent state of Khalistan through armed struggle. KCF is also responsible for many assassinations in India, including the 1995 assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. It is designated as a Terrorist Organisation by the Government of India.

The Insurgency in Punjab, India was an armed campaign by the militants of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This movement was initially peaceful, but foreign involvement and political pressures drove a heavy handed response from Indian authorities. The demand for a separate Sikh state gained momentum after the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984 aimed to flush out militants residing in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a holy site for Sikhs. Terrorism, police brutality and corruption of the authorities greatly exacerbated a tense situation. By the mid-1980s, the movement had evolved into a militant secessionist crisis due to the perceived indifference of the Indian state in regards to mutual negotiations. Eventually, more effective police and military operations, combined with a policy of rapprochement by the Indian government and the election loss of separatist sympathizers in the 1992 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, largely quelled the rebellion by the mid-1990s.

The Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) is a Khalistani separatist militant organization based in the Indian state of Punjab. Its motive is the creation of a sovereign Sikh state called Khalistan via armed struggle. The KLF is one of the key fighting forces of the Khalistan movement. It was responsible for assassinations, abductions and military engagements with the Indian Armed Forces during the Insurgency in Punjab, India. The KLF is listed as a designated terrorist group by the Republic of India.

Dhilwan is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kapurthala district in the state of Punjab, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harjinder Singh Jinda</span> Indian assassin

Harjinder Singh Jinda was a Sikh militant and one of the two assassins of Arun Vaidya. He was responsible for three high-profile assassinations: Arjan Dass, Lalit Maken and Gen. Vaidya. He along with other members of Khalistan Commando Force participated in Indian history's biggest bank robbery of ₹ 57 million from Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana to finance the militancy for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sukhdev Singh Sukha</span> Sikh militant and convicted assassin (1962–1992)

Sukhdev Singh Sukha was a Sikh militant and one of the two assassins of Arun Vaidya. He was responsible for three high-profile assassinations; Arjan Dass, Lalit Maken and Gen. Vaidya. He along with other members of Khalistan Commando Force participated in Indian history's biggest bank robbery of ₹ 57 million from Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana to finance the militancy for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.

Sukhdev Singh Dhillon, best known as General Labh Singh and also known as Sukha Sipahi and just Labh Singh, was a former Punjab police officer turned militant who took command of the Khalistan Commando Force after its first leader, Manbir Singh Chaheru, was arrested in 1986.

Lalru is a town and a Municipal Council In Mohali District about 30 km from Chandigarh, the capital of both Haryana and Punjab, on the Chandigarh-Ambala National Highway, NH 22. Lalru is having one of the toll tax barriers on this Chandigarh - Delhi National Highway. It is part of Greater Mohali and Chandigarh Capital Region (CCR) or Chandigarh Metropolitan Region (CMR), Which is an area, which includes the union territory city of Chandigarh, and its neighboring cities of Mohali, Zirakpur, New Chandigarh, and Panchkula. Chandigarh Administration, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) are different authorities responsible for the development of this region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala</span> Chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force

Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala was a Sikh militant and the third Jathedar of the Khalistan Liberation Force. Budhsinghwala's organization, KLF, was one of the most active Sikh militant groups of the time. Budhsinghwala had KLF join the Sohan Singh Panthic Committee and partnered with Khalistan Commando Force (Panjwar), Babbar Khalsa, Bhindranwale Tiger Force (Sangha), and Sikh Student Federation (Bittu) in militant actions. Budhsinghwala is also credited with making KLF one of the strongest and most lethal militant groups.

1986 Hoshiarpur Bus Massacre was a massacre of 24 Hindu bus-passengers by Khalistani militants. The bus massacre was the worst terrorist incident in Punjab of the year 1986. It occurred on Sunday, 30 November 1986, near Khuda located in the Hoshiarpur district in the northern state of Punjab, India close to the Indo-Pak border.

The 1983 Dhilwan Bus massacre was a massacre of 6 Hindus by Sikh extremists amidst the Insurgency in Punjab. It occurred on 5 October 1983, when a bus going from Dhilwan in Kapurthala district to Jalandhar was attacked by Sikh militants in which six Hindu passengers were shot dead in Dhilwan in the northern state of Punjab, India.

1986 Punjab Bus massacre may refer to

The 1987 Lalru bus massacre was a massacre of 38 Hindu bus passengers on 6 July 1987, by the Khalistan Commando Force militants near Lalru town in Punjab, India.

The following timeline documents the insurgency in Punjab, India:

On October 3, 1986, Kharkus of Khalistan Commando Force, a Kharku group led by Labh Singh, made an attempt on the life of Director General of Police in Punjab Julio Ribeiro in Jalandhar within the Punjab Armored Police headquarters. Ribeiro was wounded in the attack along with his wife. Ribeiro's wounds were minor, but his wife was hospitalized. 2 officers were killed and 2 were seriously wounded in the attack. All the attackers escaped unhurt.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tempest, Rone (26 July 1986). "Suspected Sikh Terrorists Kill 15 on India Bus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
1 2 3 Tempest, Rone (1 December 1986). "Sikh Gunmen Kill 24 Hindus, Wound 7 on Punjab Bus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
↑ Tempest, Rone (1 December 1986). "Sikh Gunmen Kill 24 Hindus, Wound 7 on Punjab Bus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
↑ "Sikh terrorists gun down bus-load of passengers in Punjab, Delhi mobs react against Sikhs". India Today. 15 August 1986. Retrieved 20 October 2018.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[LAT15Hindus-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tempest, Rone (26 July 1986). "Suspected Sikh Terrorists Kill 15 on India Bus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2018.

[LAT24Hindus-2] 1 2 3 Tempest, Rone (1 December 1986). "Sikh Gunmen Kill 24 Hindus, Wound 7 on Punjab Bus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2018.

[3] Tempest, Rone (1 December 1986). "Sikh Gunmen Kill 24 Hindus, Wound 7 on Punjab Bus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 August 2023.

[IndiaToday1986Muktsar-4] "Sikh terrorists gun down bus-load of passengers in Punjab, Delhi mobs react against Sikhs". India Today. 15 August 1986. Retrieved 20 October 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]