Thread by @JammuKashmirNow

11-12 Nov'47 when whole India was celebrating first Diwali after Independence, 10000s of Hindus were being massacred in Rajouri city of J&K.

#RajouriMassacre arguably one of the most brutal & biggest genocide in India's modern history, yet Unreported & #Undocumented #Thread 1/n

#Rajouri was a predominantly a Hindu populated city, surrounded by Muslim populated villages.

Till Sep'1947, Rajouri was a town with a population of 5,000. By early Nov, this number had swelled to over 40,000, with Hindu-Sikh refugees streaming in from the west. 2/n

12 Oct'47, Paki invaders had attacked and occupied the areas of J&K. Brig. Chattar Singh of Mirpur Brigade ordered Col Rehmat Ullah, who was commanding 9 JAK Co, posted at Jhangar, to recapture Sensa tehsil. 3rd JAK, under the command of Maj. Nasarullah was also sent to help. 3/n

At Juna Rehmat Ullah & Nasarullah along with JCOs betrayed their own forces. They killed the Gurkha sepoys of their own companies at Juna and then occupied Throachi Fort, 2 miles from #Jhangar.

Here the turncoat Rehmat Ullah joined Paki invaders and moved towards #Rajouri. 4/n

People of #Rajouri called on then PM Mehar Chand Mahajan in Jammu, appealed to save Rajouri. Mahajan realized and dispatched a battalion for Rajouri.

But #Nehru had handed over overall charge of the armies to #SheikhAbdullah. Who turned the same battalion towards Riyasi. 5/n

9th Nov'47, the invaders laid the seize and started firing on the town from all sides. A Gurkha platoon & few volunteers fought with valor, they kept the attackers away up for 17 hours.

Eventually on 10th Nov the defenders attained martyrdom and attackers entered the city. 6/n

On 11th Nov, When rest of India was celebrating Chhoti Diwali, Muslim marauders started slaughtering Hindus-Sikhs of Rajouri, first men and then elderly women.

Hundreds of women consumed poison and chose death to save their "dignity", 1700 women ended their lives. #Read 7/n

1000s of women were #raped, #abducted and later #sold in Pakistan.

Dharam Mitter Gupta 'Mirpuri' recounted an ordeal of his Bua ji (Father's sister) in his #book My Jammu Kashmir (A Forgotten History);

*How women & children were abducted to #convert them into #Islam. 8/n

12th Nov, on #Diwali, the attackers got the city evacuated and gathered the remaining men at the 'Maidan' (at present an Air Field). 10,000s were #massacred with swords and axes that day.

Amar Nath Saraf, a survivor later documented the events in the book #RajouriRemembered 9/n

For next 5 months, Rajouri remained under occupation, during this period the invaders looted and kept capturing remaining #Hindus from surrounding villages and #killed them.

After recapturing Jhangar, On 8 April'48, the 4th Dogra Battalion advanced to #recapture #Rajauri. 10/n

During the advance, 2nd Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane, Bombay Engineers, who was attached with the advancing troops, cleared the mine and roadblock.

Finally on 12 Apr'48 #Rajouri was #recaptured under the command of 2nd Lt. Raghoba Rane, despite being wounded, later awarded PVC. 11/n

When Indian Army entered the town, the Pakis had fled, having destroyed the town and #massacred 25k Hindus-Sikhs.

Later some 1500 refugees that had fled to the hills, including women & children, returned back. Every year Vijay Diwas is organized at #Rajouri on 13th April.

12/n

Do you know? In 1950s “Rajouri Garden” of Delhi was named in the remembrance of 40 thousands people killed in #RajouriMassacre.

It was D.M. Gupta 'Mirpuri', a survivor who later worked for DLF. He narrated this story in his book- My Jammu Kashmir (A Forgotten History). 13/13