Mirpur Massacre 1947: When 18 thousand Hindus got killed by Pak soldiers, due to negligence of PM Nehru

The 1947 Mirpur Massacre was the worst massacre of Indian history in which 18,000 Hindus and Sikhs out of 25,000 were massacred and about 3,500 were wounded. The massacre took place in Mirpur which is now in Pok Occupied Kashmir (POK). It occurred after India’s Independence on November 25, 1947. At that time, Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India. Sadly, being a Prime Minister of India he did not do anything to save 25,000 Hindus and Sikhs. He did not send the Indian Army for a rescue operation. If our Indian army had been sent to Mirpur, 25,000 Hindus and Sikhs would have been saved from being killed. But due to his negligence, the Mirpur massacre took place on November 25, 1947. 

It is said that the Indian Army was sent to Kashmir but they were not allowed to reach Mirpur because of the dispute over the merge of Kashmir. No matter what dispute was going on, it was the responsibility of the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru, to send the Indian army to Mirpur and bring Hindus back to India. The lives of 25,000 Hindus were more important than any dispute. It was the biggest mistake made by PM Jawaharlal Nehru. His one mistake led to the worst massacre. Don’t know why many Indians are still not aware of this fact.

Let us take you through the story of the massacre: 

During the partition of India and Pakistan, Mirpur was also a part of the princely state of Kashmir. At that time, thousands of Hindus were moving to Mirpur from western Punjab and Muslims were shifting to Pakistan from Mirpur. Then, the Pakistan Army devised a military plan to invade Jammu and Kashmir. The military campaign was code-named “Operation Gulmarg”, which was said to be assisted and guided by the British military. Before the Kashmir war, Mirpur District had Hindus and Sikhs in a large number. A great majority of them were living in Mirpur.

On 25 November 1947, invaders entered the city in the morning and set several parts of the city on fire. Over 25000 Hindus and Sikhs were stuck in Mirpur. Of the majority population, only 2,000 Hindus and 2,000 managed to escape to Jammu along with the state troops. However, Hindus and Sikhs made a request to Sheikh Abdullah to help them out but he did not pay attention to their request and left all Hindus helpless to be killed by the Pakistan Army. The raiders killed thousands of Hindus and Sikhs along the way and abducted 5,000 women. Hindu and Sikh women were raped and abducted. Many women committed suicide by falling down into the well before falling into the hands of the raiders, to avoid rape and abduction. Many men also committed suicide. The total death toll was over 20,000.

18,000 Hindus & Sikhs were killed in Mirpur Massacre (Photo: Herald magazine)

On one hand, thousands of Hindus and Sikhs were being killed and women were being raped, on the other hand, All Muslims left for Pakistan

without any casualties. Thereafter, the Pakistan Army demolished Temples and Gurudwaras with a view to destroying and killing Hindus and Sikhs. They wanted to make Mirpur district a Muslim majority area with ease. However, RSS and other organizations helped as foot soldiers to bring back the remaining Sikhs and Hindus safely to Jammu. Old temples and gurudwaras have been destroyed. Today, the Hindu and Sikh populations have become extinct in this region. 

Believe it or not, the first PM of India ‘Jawaharlal Nehru’ was responsible for this worst massacre. Because the Indian army was ready to enter Mirpur district and we know that the Indian army could save all Hindus and Sikhs 100%. It was the first PM of India who did not allow the Indian army to enter.

Writer, historian, and activist Dharam Sikarwar is a very active author The Youth. He writes on national and international issues, environment, politics. He is an avid book reader as well.