Partial Shutdown in Srinagar To Mark 32nd Anniversary of ‘Gawkadal Massacre’
In eight years starting 1990, as many as five major massacres, in January alone, have left hundreds of persons dead and property worth crores in ruins.
SRINAGAR — A partial shutdown was observed in Srinagar parts on Friday to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Gawkadal Massacre.
The city parts that observed the shutdown, partially, include Maisuma, Gawkadal, Basant Bagh, and adjacent.
The Gawkadal massacre is named after the Gawkadal bridge in Srinagar, Kashmir where, on 21 January 1990, the Indian paramilitary personnel fired on a group of Kashmiri civilian protesters killing at least 50 people.
The massacre happened two days after the Government of India appointed Jagmohan Malhotra as the Governor for the second time in a bid to control the mass protests by Kashmiris.
The massacre has been described by some authors as “the worst massacre in Kashmiri history”.
January is known as the month of massacres in Kashmir. In eight years starting 1990, as many as five major massacres left hundreds of persons dead and property worth crores in ruins.
The massacres were carried out in Gawkadal Srinagar, Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, Sopore in Baramulla district, Kupwara massacre, Wandhama in Ganderbal.
Meanwhile, City Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, expressed sympathies with the families whose beloved were killed in the massacre.
“Today is the 32nd anniversary of another dark chapter in our history – the nightmare of Gawkadal on 21st January 1990,” Mattu tweeted.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims who lost their lives,” he tweeted, “32 years have passed and justice is still awaited.
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