NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 24, 2003: When an Islamic insurgency began in Indian Kashmir in 1989, the area’s Hindus became the prime target. Muslim terrorists directed a campaign of assassinations and intimidation against Kashmiri Pandits, as the area’s Hindu brahmins are known, and most of them were forced out of Kashmir. Eleven families stayed on in the mountain hamlet of Nadimarg, about 35 miles south of Srinagar, with the encouragement of their Muslim neighbors. On Sunday night, at least eight gunmen, dressed in Indian Army uniforms, arrived at the village and ordered its residents outside. They opened fire with automatic weapons on those who complied, killing 24 Pandits, out of the 52 living in the village, including women and children. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Islamic terrorists backed by Pakistan, fighting for Kashmir’s independence or accession to Pakistan, have stepped up attacks on Hindus in recent years. The Pandits were the elite of Kashmir, filling the medical and education professions. In the early 1990’s close to 60,000 Pandits were driven out. Some have resettled and started new lives, while others remain in refugee camps outside Jammu.
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