List of bus killings during Punjab insurgency

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There were multiple incidents of killing of bus passengers during the Insurgency in Punjab, India, which was an armed campaign by the pro-Khalistan militants from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. [1] Major incidents included the Lalru massacre of 38 Hindu bus passengers on 6 July 1987, by the Khalistan Commando Force militants near Lalru, Punjab, India. [2] ; and Fatehabad bus killings on 7 July 1987, in which 34 Hindus on two buses were killed. [3] [2] [4]

Contents

This is a list of bus passenger killings during the Insurgency in Punjab, India in the 1980s and 1990s (also includes rail passenger killings).

Incidents involving shootings by militants

DatePlaceIncident
September-

5 October 1983

Dhilwan, Kapurthala district Six Hindu passengers were shot dead by two pro-Khalistan Sikh militants, [5] [6] who hijacked a bus going from Dhilwan to Jalandhar in Punjab, and opened fire on Hindu passengers. [7] [8] This bus massacre triggered the President's rule in Punjab as by this time, more than 175 people had been killed in militancy-related violence. [9]
18 Nov 1983 Kapurthala district Nine armed men killed four Hindu bus passengers in Kapurthala district, Punjab, which had earlier witnessed another bus massacre in October by Sikh militants, and in both cases, the hijacked bus was abandoned at Chitiwind village on the outskirts of Amritsar. [10]
23 Feb 1984 Punjab, India 11 Hindus killed by Sikh militants, including incidents in trains and busses. [11]
21 May 1984Moga4 Hindu travelers were killed, and 10 others were wounded near Moga, about 175 miles northwest of New Delhi after six Sikh gunmen hijacked a bus and fired at its Hindu occupants. [12]
12 September 1984Batala8 bus passengers killed. [13] [14]
25 July 1986Mukatsar15 bus passengers gunned down by suspected Sikh militants. [15]
30 November 1986Khudda24 Hindu bus passengers gunned down. [16]
6 July 1987Near Lalru Khalistan Commando Force militants hijacked a Haryana Roadways bus and killed 38 Hindu bus passengers. [17]
7 July 1987Near Fatehabad Sikh militants kill 34 Hindu bus passengers from two Haryana Roadways buses near Fatehabad [17]
15 June 1991Ludhiana district 1991 Punjab killings; 110 passengers killed by Sikh militants. [18]

Incidents involving mobs

DatePlaceIncident
8 July 1987 Jagdarshi A Hindu mob set fire to a bus with Sikhs in it killing 1 and injuring 6. [19]

Incidents involving bus bombings

DatePlaceIncident
10 and 11 May 1985New Delhi85 Hindus were killed by militants in bombings, including bombs in a train and 2 buses. 59 Hindus had died on the spot while the rest succumbed to injuries after being hospitalized. The terrorists used transistor bombs in a train and 2 buses. [20] [21]

Incidents involving Punjab Police

DatePlaceIncident
11 September 1982 Tarn Taran 32 Sikh activists and two police guards were killed and 21 others injured when a speeding train slammed into a bus with the newly arrested Sikh political activists, who had courted arrest as part of Dharam Yudh Morcha. [22] [23] Multiple Sikh leaders accused this of being a deliberate incident by the police to kill Sikhs who courted arrest. [24] [25]
July 1992 Uttar Pradesh 10 Sikhs were pulled off of a bus by police and killed in fake encounters while heading to Gurdaspur from Hazur Sahib. [26] [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babbar Khalsa</span> Militant organization

Babbar Khalsa International, better known as Babbar Khalsa, is a Sikh militant organisation that aims to create an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan in the Indian and Pakistani states of Punjab. It has used armed attacks, assassinations and bombings in aid of that goal, and is deemed to be a terrorist entity by various governments. Besides India, it operates in North America and Europe, including Scandinavia.

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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.

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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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labh Singh</span> Leader of Khalistan Commando Force

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalru</span> Town in Punjab, India

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Gurbachan Singh Manochahal was Jathedar of Akal Takhat Sahib who founded the Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan in 1984.

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.

1986 Muktsar Bus Massacre was a massacre of 14 Hindu and one Sikh bus-passenger by Khalistani militants. 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.

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.

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 7 July 1987, Khalistani militants killed 34 Hindus on two buses near Fatehabad in the Hisar district of Haryana, India. The same attackers may have been involved in the Lalru bus massacre a day earlier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalistan Tiger Force</span> Organisation for the Khalistan movement cause

Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) is a militant outfit of the Khalistan movement. In February 2023, it was designated as a terrorist organization by the Indian government.

References

  1. ↑ Ray, Jayanta Kumar (2007). Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World. Pearson Education India. p. 484. ISBN   978-8131708347. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 Tavleen Singh; Sreekant Khandekar (1987-07-31). "Terrorists kill bus passengers in Punjab and Haryana mercilessly". India Today. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  3. ↑ Dilip Ganguly (1987-07-07). "Sikhs Kill 34 Hindus on Two Buses, Bringing Two-Day Toll To 72". AP. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  4. ↑ Richard M. Weintraub (1987-07-07). "Gunmen kill 38 passengers on crowded bus in India". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  5. ↑ Martin, Gus (2011-06-15). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition. SAGE Publications. p. 544. ISBN   978-1-4522-6638-1. In October 1983, six Hindu bus passengers were slaughtered by Sikh militants
  6. ↑ Hardgrave, Robert L. (1984). India Under Pressure: Prospects For Political Stability. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-429-71661-4.
  7. ↑ "Sikhs execute six hindus on hijacked bus". The Washington Post. 6 October 1983. Two Sikh extremists hijacked a New Delhi-bound bus in northern Punjab state Wednesday night and opened fire on Hindu passengers with a machine gun, killing six
  8. ↑ "Indian government orders crackdown on terrorism". Lakeland Ledger. p. 59.
  9. ↑ "Indian Government takes over a state swept by religious strife". 7 October 1983. Retrieved 22 November 2014. Late Wednesday six Hindu passengers were hauled off a bus and gunned down. In the other incident, a police subinspector and a tax inspector were killed aboard a train. In all more than 175 people have died in the Punjab disturbances.
  10. ↑ Shekhar Gupta (1983-12-15). "Brutal slaying of four Hindu bus travelers takes tension in Punjab to a new high". India Today. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  11. ↑ Stevens, William K. (23 February 1984). "11 HINDUS KILLED IN PUNJAB UNREST, WILLIAM K. STEVENS, The New York Times, Feb 23, 1984". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Sikh Terrorists Kill 13 In Northern India State". The New York Times. 23 May 1984.
  13. ↑ "India/Punjab (1947-present)". uca.edu. 1 January 2009.
  14. ↑ Carol Christine Fair (2009). Lessons from India's Experience in the Punjab, 1978-1993. Routledge. p. 108. ISBN   9780203879207 . Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Suspected sikh terrorists kill 15 on bus". Los Angeles Times. 26 July 1986.
  16. ↑ "Sikh extremists hijack Punjab bus and kill 24". NeyYork Times. 30 November 1986.
  17. 1 2 Dilip Ganguly (1987-07-07). "Sikhs Kill 34 Hindus on Two Buses, Bringing Two-Day Toll To 72". AP. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  18. ↑ "Sikhs storm 2 trains, KIll 110 in Punjab". Los Angeles Times. 16 June 1991.
  19. ↑ "Hindu youths attacked Sikhs and torched Sikh-owned property in..." UPI. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  20. ↑ "1985 transistor blast case stuck for 20-yrs". Times of india. 21 Nov 2005.
  21. ↑ "India siezes 1500 as deaths mount". The New York Times. 12 May 1985.
  22. ↑ "A speeding train slammed into a bus packed with". UPI.com. 1982-09-12. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  23. ↑ "Timeline of incidents in Punjab (Jan to Dec 1982) | KEM". Khalistan Extremism Monitor. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  24. ↑ Gill, Kanwar Pal Singh (1997). Punjab, the Knights of Falsehood. Har-Anand Publications. p. 73. ISBN   978-81-241-0569-6.
  25. ↑ Dhillon, Gurdarshan Singh (1992). India Commits Suicide. Singh & Singh Publishers. p. 182.
  26. ↑ "Pilibhit fake encounter: 'Will seek death penalty for guilty cops'". Hindustan Times. 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  27. ↑ Jaijee, Inderjit Singh (1999). Politics of Genocide: Punjab, 1984-1998. Ajanta Publications. p. 176. ISBN   978-81-202-0415-7.
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