Srinagar, Kashmir – With a history fraught with violence and unrest, the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir has been a battleground between militants and New Delhi’s rule for decades. Over the past 25 years, numerous major incidents have rocked the region, leaving a trail of bloodshed and devastation in their wake.
One such incident occurred on March 20, 2000, when gunmen brutally shot and killed 36 members of the Sikh community in the village of Chittisinghpora just hours before the arrival of then-President Bill Clinton in India. The attackers’ identities remain a subject of controversy to this day.
In August 2000, suspected militants carried out the largest militant attack on Hindus participating in the annual Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage, resulting in the deaths of at least 32 individuals. Tragically, similar attacks on the pilgrimage occurred in subsequent years, including in 2001, 2002, and 2017.
The violence continued to escalate on October 1, 2001, when a suicide bomber targeted the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Complex in Srinagar, claiming the lives of at least 36 people. The following year, on May 14, 2002, three militants launched a deadly attack at an army station in Kaluchak, Jammu-Kashmir, killing a total of 36 individuals, including security personnel, women, and children.
Further atrocities unfolded on March 23, 2003, as suspected militants ruthlessly killed at least 24 Kashmiri minority Hindus in Nadimarg village. The toll of violence surged in September 2016 when militants linked to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed group attacked an Indian army brigade headquarters near Uri, Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 19 soldiers.
The cycle of violence reached a devastating peak on February 14, 2019, when a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant carried out a car bombing targeting a convoy of paramilitary forces in Pulwama, Jammu-Kashmir, claiming the lives of 40 security personnel. More recently, on June 9, 2024, suspected militants opened fire on a bus carrying Hindu devotees to a sacred shrine in Jammu, leaving nine civilians dead and dozens injured.