Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control and around the world observed Jammu Martyrs Day on Friday, November 6. The day serves as an annual tribute to more than 250,000 Muslims who, according to historical accounts, died in Jammu and surrounding areas in 1947 while attempting to migrate to Pakistan.
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a public holiday was declared to allow for special ceremonies, seminars, and symposiums in Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, and various parts of the Poonch division. Speakers at these gatherings pledged to continue the mission of the martyrs until the Kashmir dispute is resolved according to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and their internationally recognized right to self-determination through a free and fair plebiscite under relevant United Nations resolutions.
The Jammu Massacre of November 6, 1947, remains one of the most tragic chapters in history, marking state-sponsored genocide against Kashmiri Muslims. During October and November 1947, forces of the Hindu Dogra ruler Hari Singh, alongside the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and armed Hindu-Sikh militias, systematically killed over 250,000 innocent Muslims in a deliberate effort to alter the region’s demographics and reduce its 61% Muslim majority into a minority.
A report from The Times published on August 10, 1948, stated that Dogra forces systematically liquidated over 237,000 Muslims, while nearly 500,000 were forced to migrate toward Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. Reports from the 1949 UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) subcommittee and insights from prominent journalist Ved Bhasin confirm that this ethnic cleansing was an orchestrated administrative and political operation under the Maharaja and the RSS—a reality also acknowledged by Mahatma Gandhi in his statements on December 25, 1947.
Historians and analysts cited in the report regard this as one of the largest and fastest single massacres following World War II. The report connects these historical events to current policies in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). It alleges that following the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019, the Modi administration has intensified demographic engineering with over one million military personnel present. The report further claims that local property rights are being altered in violation of Article 85(4)(a) of the Geneva Conventions’ Additional Protocol I, and that initiatives like the Srinagar 2035 Plan are being used to settle non-local Indian citizens in the region.
