The Forgotten Victims of Nadimarg: Over Two Decades of Silence and Injustice

By Vinay Nalwa

March 23, 2003, was not an ordinary night for the Kashmiri Hindus of Nadimarg. It was the night when an entire community's faith in justice was shattered, when 24 innocent lives—men, women, and even children—were brutally taken away, and when the world chose to remain silent. Despite over two decades passing, justice remains elusive, as no one has been convicted for the massacre. While the Kashmiri Hindus continue to await justice everyone including global human rights organizations have turned their backs on the tragedy.

The Night of Horror: What Happened in Nadimarg?

Nadimarg, a small village in Pulwama district, was one of the last places where Kashmiri Hindu still lived in the early 2000s. Unlike the mass exodus of the 1990s, where hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Hindu Pandits were forced to flee their homeland due to Islamist insurgency, the residents of Nadimarg had chosen to stay, hoping that peace would prevail. But their hopes were brutally crushed.

On the fateful night of March 23, around 11 PM, a group of heavily armed terrorists—later identified as members of the internationally designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)—descended upon the village. Led by their 'district commander' Zia Mustafa, reportedly from Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, they wore counterfeit military uniforms to deceive the villagers. Under the pretext of conducting a security check, they ordered all the Pandits out of their homes. Terrified yet obedient, the residents complied.

The militants lined up 24 Kashmiri Hindus, including 11 men, 11 women, and 2 children. Then, in a cold-blooded execution, they shot them dead one by one. Even as the terrified victims pleaded for mercy, the assailants showed no remorse. A 65-year-old man and a 2-year-old child were among those murdered—their only crime was belonging to the indigenous Hindu community of Kashmir.

Eyewitnesses later testified that local police personnel, who were stationed to protect the village, not only failed to intervene but fled the scene even before the terrorists began their massacre. It was a betrayal of the worst kind.

The Hunt for the Perpetrators: A Story of Delayed Justice

Despite the gravity of the crime, justice has been painfully slow. While Zia Mustafa, the mastermind, was arrested in 2003, he remained in prison for years. In October 2021, he was taken by security forces to a forest in Poonch to identify militant hideouts but was killed in crossfire between militants and Indian forces before he could face trial.

Additionally, three other Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, killed by Mumbai police on March 29, 2003, were suspected to have been involved in the massacre. Another suspected LeT militant was arrested in April 2003. However, no major convictions have taken place, and those responsible for orchestrating the attack continue to evade accountability.

The Deafening Silence of the World

It is not the first time the world has ignored the plight of Hindus in Kashmir. But Nadimarg is a glaring example of the selective outrage of global human rights organizations and media. No international headlines for weeks, no calls for justice, no UN investigations, or global campaigns. The world just moved on as if nothing had happened.

Western media outlets reported the Nadimarg massacre in passing. There were no in-depth investigative reports, no global condemnations, no resolutions passed in international forums. The same media houses that extensively cover "Hindutva" narratives and alleged religious intolerance in India failed to highlight the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus.

The United Nations, which regularly issues statements on human rights violations worldwide, did not take any significant notice of the massacre. The United States and European nations, who position themselves as defenders of minority rights, did not issue strong condemnations or demand justice for the victims.

Why this selective amnesia? Is it because the victims were Hindus? Or because the perpetrators were Islamic extremists?

Two Decades and No Justice

The Nadimarg massacre is not just a case of ethnic cleansing—it is also a case of denial of justice. Despite 21 years having passed, no one has been convicted for the crime.

• 2003: Investigations began, but the case soon fell into bureaucratic delays.

• 2011: The trial proceedings were halted because the government failed to produce key witnesses.

• 2022: In October 2022, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh ordered the reopening of the trial, The case had stalled since 2011 as key witnesses, having migrated out of Kashmir due to security threats, were unwilling to testify. The court directed their testimonies to be recorded via videoconferencing or commission, offering a renewed hope for justice after two decades of delay.

• 2025: The case remains unresolved. No significant progress has been made, and families of the victims have been left in despair.

The grief-stricken families of the Nadimarg massacre victims gather every year, mourn their loved ones and demand justice that remains elusive. Despite the brutal killing of 24 Kashmiri Hindus, no arrests have been made, and the case has seen no significant progress. Survivors recall the horrific night when gunmen, disguised in military uniforms, lined up and shot the victims mercilessly. One survivor, who managed to escape, rushed to the Zainpura police station for help, but the police remained passive, only reaching the village the next morning—when it was too late.

"As many as 24 people were lined up and killed that night. What happened after that? Has anyone been arrested? What have the courts done? There is no justice for us," says Satish Kumar, whose father and sister were among those shot dead.

Reliving the horror, Ramesh Kumar Pandita says, "I was there. I can never forget them. Time has stood still for me ever since. Gunmen wearing military-style clothes knocked on our doors and wanted us to come out. "The gunmen lined up the KPs and then opened fire. I escaped under the cover of darkness. I don't know how I escaped and ran to the Zainpura police station. "I told them about what was happening in the village. But they just sat quietly. They didn't do anything and made me sit in the police station. Only in the morning did they go to the village. But by then all had finished. "My father, two sisters-in-laws and their two children had been shot dead." Pandita says he has no tears left but there's one question that continues to haunt him: Why did the police not act?

Last year on March 24, 2024, the 21st anniversary of the Nadimarg massacre (March 23, 2003), the Arde Narishwar Trust organized a Shrandhanjali Sabha at Geeta Bhawan, Muthi, to honor the 24 Kashmiri Pandit martyrs. People from all walks of life gathered to pay floral tributes. Shanti Path was organised. But the massacre remains a stark reminder of the unpunished crimes against Kashmiri Hindus.

The survivors and relatives of the Nadimarg victims have repeatedly pleaded for justice, but their voices have been drowned in political indifference. No compensation, no accountability, and no efforts to resettle Kashmiri Hindus in their homeland have been made.

A Case Study in Islamic Oppression of Non-Muslims

The forced exodus of over 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s was one of the largest instances of religious persecution in modern history, yet it remains largely unacknowledged globally. Islamist groups have used violence, coercion, and systematic erasure of Hindu presence to ensure that Kashmir remains a Muslim-dominated region. And the lack of global accountability has emboldened them.

The Need to Break the Silence

The world may have ignored Nadimarg, but Hindus cannot afford to. It is time to demand:

·      Recognition of the Nadimarg massacre as a genocide against Kashmiri Hindus.

·      Strict legal action against the perpetrators and those who aided them.

·      International acknowledgment of the exodus and mass killings of Hindus in Kashmir.

·      A dedicated inquiry commission to investigate crimes against Hindus in Kashmir.

For too long, Hindus have been forced to suffer in silence. The justice system has failed them, the media has ignored them, and the world has abandoned them. But history will remember Nadimarg—not just for the innocent lives lost, but for the world's shameful complicity in ignoring their pain.

On the anniversary of the Nadimarg massacre, let us resolve and take a pledge that while we may not have stood for the victims then, we will not remain silent now—not for Nadimarg, nor for the many massacres that happened before or after it in Kashmir —because every Hindu life is important, and every injustice must be remembered and resisted.