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2001 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre


On 20 July 2001, in the month of Shraavana, 13 people were killed and 15 others injured in a terror attack on a pilgrim night camp at Sheshnag Lake near the Amarnath Temple glacial cave shrine in Kashmir Valley in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, in two explosions and firing by militants.[1][2][3] In a pre-dawn attack, terrorists penetrated several layers of security cordon and exploded two improvised explosive devices (lEDs), casualties included 8 Hindu civilian pilgrims entailing 2 women, and 3 Muslim civilians and 2 security personnel.[4]

2001 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre
LocationSheshnag Lake, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Date20 July 2001
TargetKashmiri Hindus
Attack type
Mass murder
MotiveIslamist Terrorism

Background

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The 48-days July–August annual Hindu pilgrimage, undertaken by up to 600,000 or more pilgrims to 130 feet (40 m) high glacial Amarnath cave shrine of iced stalagmite Shiv linga e at 12,756 feet (3,888 m) in Himalayas, is called Amarnath Yatra.[5][6][7] It begins with a 43 kilometres (27 mi) mountainous trek from the Nunwan and Chandanwari base camps at Pahalgam and reaches cave-shine after night halts at Sheshnag Lake and Panchtarni camps.[8]

The yatra is both a way of earning revenue by the state government by imposing tax on pilgrims,[9][10] and making living by the local Shia Muslim Bakarwal-Gujjars by taking a portion of revenue and by offering services to the Hindu pilgrims, and this source of income has been threatened by the militant groups who have banned and attacked the yatra numerous times,[11][12][13][14][15] as well as have massacred at least 30 and injured at least 60 people in Amarnath pilgrimage terrorist-attack massacre (2000) causing death of 21 unarmed Hindu pilgrims, 7 Muslim civilians and 3 security forces in a two hour long indiscriminate shoot out at Pahalgam town in Anantnag district.[2] See also: Amarnath pilgrimage terrorist-attack massacre (2000). This attack on Amarnath yatra was part of the larger 1st and 2nd August 2000 Kashmir massacre in 5 separate coordinated terrorist attacks that killed at least 89 (official count) to 105 people (as reported by PTI), and injured at least 62 more.[16]

Aftermath

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Union Government of India released the additional funding and state Government of Jammu and Kashmir tightened the security.[4] Few weeks later Bin Laden launched September 11 attacks on USA which forced the change in global response to the Islamic terror attacks from aloof and sporadic to united and coordinated.[17] Pakistan-backed Islamic terrorist organizations,[18] Lashkar-e-Taiba[19][20][21][22] founded by Hafiz Saeed[23][24][25][26][27][28] and Hizbul Mujahideen were designated terrorist organisations by India,[29] European Union[30] and United States.[31][32][33][34][35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Amarnath Yatra devotees have faced repeated terror attacks: Here's the blood-soaked history of pilgrimage", First Post, 11 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b Vicky Nanjappa, Amarnath yatra has been attacked thrice in the past, One India News. 11 July 2017.
  3. ^ 6 pilgrims among 13 killed in 2 blasts, The Tribune, 11 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b 2001, Kashmir, Data India, Issues 27-52, pp.650.]
  5. ^ Amarnath Yatra explained, Amarnath Yatra organisation.
  6. ^ "Amarnath Yatra Tourism Information". www.oneindiaonline.com.
  7. ^ Amarnath: Journey to the shrine of a Hindu god, Boston.Com Archived 29 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, 13 July 20112.
  8. ^ Amarnath yatra ends, fewest pilgrims in decade, The Hindu, 18 August 2016.
  9. ^ BJP demands removal of Amarnath yatra entry fee, Times of India.
  10. ^ No Additional Tax Levied on Vehicles Going to Amarnath and Vaishno Devi, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Finance of Government of India, 2010.
  11. ^ Carl W. Ernst, 2016, Refractions of Islam in India: Situating Sufism and Yoga, SAGE Publications, ISBN 9351509648.
  12. ^ Muslim group asks for reviving Amarnath Yatra, Times of India, 17 July 2016.
  13. ^ Expert Speak on Kashmir: No algorithm for Azadi, Observer Research Foundation, August 2016.
  14. ^ "Rediff On The NeT: Harkatul Mujaheedin 'bans' Amarnath Yatra". Rediff.com. 9 July 1998. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  15. ^ [1] Archived 10 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Night of massacres leaves 105 dead in valley", The Tribune, 3 August 2000.
  17. ^ 9/11 anniversary: How the world changed in 15 years, Indian Express, 11 September 2016.
  18. ^ Sati Sahni, 10,000 The birth of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Rediff News, July 2000
  19. ^ Basset, Donna (2012). Peter Chalk (ed.). Encyclopedia of Terrorism. ABC-CLIO. p. 12. ISBN 978-0313308956.
  20. ^ Jayshree Bajoria (14 January 2010). "Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) (a.k.a. Lashkar e-Tayyiba, Lashkar e-Toiba; Lashkar-i-Taiba)". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  21. ^ Kurth Cronin, Audrey; Huda Aden; Adam Frost; Benjamin Jones (6 February 2004). "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 4 March 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ "Mumbai Terror Attacks Fast Facts". CNN.
  23. ^ "Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of Global Jihad". Brookings.edu. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  24. ^ "Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of Global Jihad, transcript" (PDF). Brookings.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  25. ^ "The 9/11 Attacks' Spiritual Father". Brookings.edu. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  26. ^ "The 15 faces of terror". Rediff.com. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  27. ^ E. Atkins, Stephen (2004). Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups. Greenwood Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0313324857.
  28. ^ Ashley J. Tellis (11 March 2010). "Bad Company – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the Growing Ambition of Islamist Mujahidein in Pakistan" (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The group's earliest operations were focused on the Kunar and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan, where LeT had set up several training camps in support of the jihad against the Soviet occupation.
  29. ^ "::Ministry of Home Affairs:: BANNED ORGANISATIONS". 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  30. ^ "COUNCIL DECISION (CFSP) 2015/2430 of 21 December 2015". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  31. ^ "US adds 4 Indian outfits to terror list". Rediff. 30 April 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  32. ^ "L – Appendix A: Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents, 2002". Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  33. ^ "N – Appendix C: Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups". Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  34. ^ "Appendix C – Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups". Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  35. ^ Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups (PDF) – via State Department of the United States of America.
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