1863 Yasin massacre

Massacre in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan 1863 Yasin massacre Yasin Valley (present-day Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan) Spring 1863 Yasini Yashkuns mass murder, mass rape, immolation, plundering 1,200–2,000 (in initial massacre) 2,000–3,000 enslaved, many of whom died of starvation en route to Kashmir Dogra soldiers Pashtun mercenaries from Swat and Buner The Yasin massacre occurred in 1863 at the Yasin Valley (present-day Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan).Hassnain Fida Muhammad Fida Muhammad Hassnain British Policy Towards Kashmir, 1846–1921: Kashmir in Anglo-Russian Politics 1974 Sterling Publishers 63 en 89978449 They inflicted losses on the Dogras in Yasin, who had carried a general massacre of men, women and children in the fort of Yasin. The invading Dogra army of princely state of Jammu and Kashmir killed over two thousand Yashkuns and enslaved several thousands others, many of whom died en route to Kashmir.Samaddar Ranabir Ranabir Samaddar Space, Territory, and the State: New Readings in International Politics 2002 Orient Blackswan 978-81-250-2209-1 69 en Moreover, in the war between Kashmir and Yasin, 1000 of the 3000 captives were women, and a few were children and old men.Saraf M. Yusuf Muhammad Yusuf Saraf Kashmiris Fight For Freedom (1819–1946) 1977 Ferozsons I Lahore 252 VI. Liberation of Gilgit 4646571 This time, the Dogras went in their pursuit and defeated them. Raja Mulk Aman fled to the hills. Women and children remained locked up in the fort and after over-coming the resistance that remained, the Dogras entered the fort and did as they pleased. Many a women were taken prisoners and carried away to Gilgit. https://archive.org/details/part-i-kashmiris-fight-for-freedom-vol-1-1819-1946-by-yusuf-saraf/page/124/mode/1upDani Ahmad Hasan Ahmad Hasan Dani History of Northern Areas of Pakistan 1991 National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Quaid-i-Azam University 978-969-415-016-1 2nd Islamabad 256–258 en Modern History 1989Chohan Amar Singh The Gilgit Agency: 1877–1935 1997 Atlantic Publishers & Distributors 978-81-7156-146-9 14–16 en Geography and History of Gilgit Background Yasin Valley, located in the northern fringes of present-day Gilgit-Baltistan, is chiefly populated by Burushaski and Khowar speaking Yashkuns. It was a stronghold of Khushwaqt dyansty. The Khushwaqt ruler Gohar Aman had expelled Dogras from Gilgit in 1852 by inflicting a defeat over Dogra commander Bhup Singh who was killed along with 1,200 of his troops. After his death in 1860, the maharaja of Kashmir Ranbir Singh sent an army consisting of 9,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry under Zoraweru Singh, Hoshiara Singh, Jawahar Singh and Pashtun mercenaries under Samad Khan Khyberi to avenge the defeat. They were joined by local chiefs, Asmat Khan of Yasin and Isa Bahadur of Punial, who had been resentful of Gohar Aman confiscating their estates. Massacre The Dogra troops reached Yasin in the spring of 1863. Yasinis were taken by surprise and took refuge in Madoori fort in the valley. According to George W. Hayward, who visited the valley in 1870, the Kashmir forces ensured Yasinis of their safety once they had laid down their weapons. But after the capitulation of the fort, the inhabitants were massacred. According to Hayward, 1,200 to 1,400 men, women and children were killed, with another 2,000 being enslaved and taken away to Srinagar and Jammu, several hundreds of whom died of starvation on the way. According to Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner who met the eyewitnesses of the massacre in 1866, over 2,000 people were killed and 3,000 (mostly women) were enslaved and sold in Kashmir. After the massacre villages in Yasin were burnt and laid to waste. Both also narrate incidents of mass rapes.Khan Masud Ahmad 11 April 2021 The great massacre at Yasin-1863 https://nation.com.pk/12-Apr-2021/the-great-massacre-at-yasin-1863 13 March 2026 The Nation en-US One of the worst massacres in the history of Gilgit-Baltistan took place in Yasin during the attack on the fort as the Sikhs were taking their revenge. A total of 2000 people, including women and children, were slaughtered. Yasin was plundered and burnt and all the cattle were carried off together with some 2000 men and women. Hayward published an article in The Pioneer on 9 May 1870, in which he claimed that he saw charcoal turned bones where about forty women were burnt alive by Dogra soldiers. He also reported counting skulls of 147 children, in addition to finding 400 sets of skeletal remains at another place, as well as conversing with survivors who lost their relatives. According to Hayward, a number of Yasini women were still concubines of their captors in Srinagar and Jammu. These disclosures reportedly caused embarrassment for Lord Mayo, the then Viceroy of India, who called Hayward's actions as "irresponsible", and a great deal of anger among the Kashmir state officials.Hutchison Robert The Raja of Harsil: The Legend of Frederick 'Pahari' Wilson 2020 Roli Books Private Limited 978-93-5194-092-0 377 en Lord Mayo was sorely embarrassed by these disclosures. He qualified Hayward's action 'irresponsible' and demanded that Rawlinson rein in his protégé.Keay John John Keay The Gilgit Game: The Explorers of the Western Himalayas, 1865–95 1979 Murray 978-0-7195-3569-7 London 62–66 After plundering the place Yasin was burnt and all the cattle carried off, together with some 2,000 women and men. References Further reading Leitner Gottlieb William https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dardistan_in_1866_1886_and_1893/EibNPPsNGPIC?hl=en Dardistan in 1866, 1886, and 1893 1996 Asian Educational Services 978-81-206-1217-4 95–98 en III War on Yasin and the Massacre of its Inhabitants [1860] Category:1860s mass murders