The city of Jammu which is the winter capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and is also called the city of temples. The scenic beauty of the city with ancient temples makes it a rightful neighbor of Kashmir which is heaven on earth. But, like its neighbor, Jammu has also seen violence and has faced terrorism done by the same forces. One such incident of terror is the Raghunath Temple Massacre of the year 2002.

 

 

Raghunath temple, as the name suggests is a temple dedicated to Lord Rama which was constructed in the 18th century by Dogra rulers. It is a well-known holy shrine of the Hindus and also is one of the largest temple complexes of the North India. This Ram temple tells us about the history of Jammu and its cultural heritage. Knowing this, the Islamic terrorist forces targeted the holy shrine.

 

 

 

 

 

Followed by the first attack on 30th March 2002, when two suicide bombers attacked the temple and 11 persons were killed and 20 were injured, the incident took place on 24th November, 2002. The terrorists equipped with automatic weapons and grenades attacked the temple on Sunday evening, hurling grenades and firing indiscriminately on the temple complex. They had a cruel plan but security forces surrounded the temple, engaged in a gun battle for a few hours, secured the area and evacuated the building. In all this, 10 people were killed and 53 were injured. According to reports, two terrorists appeared at Raghunath Mandir Chowk. One of them forced entry into the Mandir Complex and hurled grenades, thereby creating panic in the area. People started running in fear. Taking advantage of the situation, the terrorists mingled with the crowd and entered the temple. When confronted by a CRPF constable, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire, killing him on the spot and causing casualties to a number of others including civilians. However, the Pujaris closed the Garbhagriha, forcing one of the terrorists to take shelter on the periphery of the Garbhagriha. The CRPF personnel guarding the temple laid a cordon to prevent the escape of this terrorist. The operation at Raghunath Temple had culminated with the elimination of the terrorist hiding in the temple late on 24th November evening.

 

 

At the same time, the second terrorist escaped in the crowd towards Panjbakhter Road, opened fire and lobbed grenades. This place is located just a few hundred metres away from Raghunath Temple where another Shiv temple called Rupaya Wala Mandir is located. Alert JKP personnel closed the doors of the Shiv Temple, preventing entry of the terrorist. The terrorist resorted to firing from a congested area adjoining this temple. The area was then cordoned off and this terrorist was killed on the morning of 25th November. On the basis of several evidences, it is said that terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the attack.

 

 

 

 

 

Today, it has been around 17 years but it still feels like yesterday for the people and families affected by the attack. That was the time when militancy and terrorism used to be a usual thing in Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the many cheap acts done by the groups safeguarded by Pakistan. Hafiz Saeed (Chief- Lashkar-e-Taiba) and the mastermind of these attacks still enjoys liberty in the flunkey nation of Pakistan. Terrorism has become a global issue today. It is high time that India should work to bring justice so that in future, people like Saeed cease to exist and the disease of terrorism over the world gets cured with India’s major contribution in it.