Kashmiri Hindu family violently attacked by Muslim mob after defying orders not to perform cremation of family member as per Hindu rituals during 1990s genocide
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India 
17 April, 1990
Case Summary
In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, a Hindu family was brutally attacked by a Muslim mob of around 200 people. The attack was triggered by the family's refusal to abide by the demands of not carrying out the cremation of their family member, Sarla Bhat, as per Hindu rituals. Sarla Bhat was a Kashmiri Pandit nurse who had been gang-raped, tortured, and murdered by Islamic terrorists in April 1990, during the onset of militancy and the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. Nearly 35 years after the abduction, assault and murder of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat, the deceased's cousin, P. N. Bhat appeared in an interview with the media and revealed how, after Sarla’s murder, Islamic terror groups and local Muslims had issued multiple warnings to her family against cremating her remains according to Hindu rituals. He recalled how her family nevertheless proceeded with the cremation, defying the threats. When they later went to collect her cremated remains (asthi), a mob of around 200 Muslims descended upon the crematorium, stomped on Sarla’s ashes, and kicked them with their shoes. They also hurled abuses at the grieving Hindu family, calling them "sale haramzade log". The family members managed to collect a handful of ashes, concealed them in a pheran (traditional Kashmiri attire) to perform the final rites, and escaped. The violence did not end there, as their family home was later bombed with a grenade. The interview followed the filing of a 737-page chargesheet by the Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA), which named Mohammad Yasin Malik, the then Chief Commander terrorist of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, as the mastermind behind Sarla Bhat's abduction, torture, and murder. P. N. Bhat also stated that the family felt deep anguish upon seeing Yasin Malik, the Islamic terrorist, who was the mastermind behind Sarla Bhat's murder and the wider genocide of Kashmiri Pandits, being felicitated by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Following the filing of the chargesheet against Yasin Malik, P. N. Bhat expressed satisfaction and called for all those accused to be punished for the rape and murder of Sarla Bhat. He praised the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking action against Yasin Malik and others involved. While doing so, he also stated that, after 35 years, justice was finally moving forward, adding that justice delayed was justice denied. Notably, Yasin Malik is an Islamic terrorist and the founding leader of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, an armed terrorist organisation. This group played a major role in the insurgency, terrorism, and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits that began in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989–1990. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front was instrumental in the targeted killings and terror campaign that contributed to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. Malik was convicted in a terror-funding case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after pleading guilty to charges including criminal conspiracy and waging war against India. He also faced prosecution in other terrorism-related cases, including the 1990 killing of Indian Air Force personnel. Malik was one of the principal figures associated with the terror campaign that accompanied the persecution and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, while official investigations and court proceedings linked him and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front to multiple acts of terrorism during that period. The forced exodus and genocide of Kashmiri Hindus in January 1990 was not a sudden development. It was the culmination of a sustained campaign to drive the Hindu population out of the Valley, carried out by Islamic terrorists, with the wider atmosphere shaped by intimidation, fear, and mobilisation in which local Kashmiri Muslims also played a role. The slogan "Raliv, Galiv ya Chaaliv" ("convert, leave, or perish") echoed across the Valley for years and was used to threaten and terrorise Kashmiri Hindus into abandoning their homes. The period was marked by targeted killings of Hindus, including prominent community figures, alongside brutal assaults, targeted sexual violence against Hindu women, murders, arson attacks on Hindu properties, and the systematic destruction and desecration of temples and other Hindu religious sites. This sustained pattern of violence and coercion created an environment in which lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee the Valley, leaving behind their homes, property, livelihoods, and cultural roots in order to save their lives and protect the honour of their families. The displacement unfolded amidst widespread fear and the breakdown of civil order, and justice for the affected families continues to remain elusive. Among the many Kashmiri Hindus who were targeted and killed during this period was Sarla Bhat. She was a 27-year-old Kashmiri Hindu woman from Anantnag who worked as a nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar. The Soura neighbourhood on the outskirts of Srinagar, where SKIMS is located, was at the time considered something of a stronghold for JKLF and its supporters. Wounded JKLF terrorists, injured in encounters with security forces, were frequently brought to SKIMS for treatment. Sarla Bhat, as a nurse in the hospital, was exposed to their presence. According to investigation sources, JKLF top terrorists grew increasingly paranoid that a Kashmiri Pandit nurse at SKIMS might pass information about injured terrorists to police or intelligence agencies. She was threatened multiple times, but she did not leave. On 18 April 1990, Bhat was abducted by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front terrorists from the Habba Khatoon Hostel. Her bullet-ridden body was later found in Umar Colony, Mallabagh, in downtown Srinagar. A note was found near her body branding her as a "police informer". According to media reports, she had been subjected to brutal gang rape, and her body was mutilated and bore signs of extreme torture before she was murdered. A case was registered at Nigeen Police Station; however, no progress was made for over three decades before the State Investigation Agency took over the investigation. Her murder was one of the earliest killings of Kashmiri Hindus by Islamic terrorist groups and became one of the many incidents that contributed to the climate of fear during the genocide and the subsequent mass exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. The SIA chargesheet categorically stated that the allegation portraying Sarla Bhat as an informer was "entirely false" and had been fabricated to provide a justification for her premeditated murder. The investigation concluded that her killing formed part of the JKLF's systematic campaign of targeted violence against Kashmiri Pandits, aimed at terrorising the community and creating conditions that would force their displacement and eventual exodus from the Valley. Sarla Bhat's killing was not an isolated incident. During the same period, Islamic terrorists also murdered several other Kashmiri Pandits, including Girija Tickoo, a laboratory assistant at a university in the Kashmir Valley; Pandit Tika Lal Taploo, an advocate and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader; Pandit Neelkanth Ganjoo, a former judge; poet Sarwanand Kaul Premi; and broadcaster Lassa Kaul. These targeted killings formed part of a broader pattern of violence directed against the Kashmiri Hindu community during the 1990s, contributing to widespread fear and ultimately forcing lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits to flee their ancestral homeland.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, the first primary category selected is: Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is: Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The other subcategory selected is: Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second primary category selected is: Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is: Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This case serves as a definitive illustration of a religiously motivated hate crime, evidenced by the brutal attack on a minority Kashmiri Hindu family by a Muslim mob of approximately 200 people. The violence erupted solely because the family chose to defy targeted dictates and proceed with the cremation rites of their deceased family member, Sarla Bhat, in accordance with Hindu rituals. This assault underscores a clear instance of a religiously driven hate crime, where a large Muslim group targeted a grieving Hindu family precisely because of their religious identity and their insistence on practising their faith. The sheer scale of the mobilisation, where hundreds of people gathered to enforce a prohibition on a private religious ceremony, demonstrates that the confrontation was not a localised dispute but a collective action rooted in intense religious animosity towards Kashmiri Hindus. By violently intervening in a moment of deep personal grief, the perpetrators showcased a total intolerance for the existence and visible practice of Hinduism within the region, making it clear that the victims were targeted specifically for their faith. In Hinduism, the final rites, known as Antyesti, hold immense spiritual significance. Hindus believe that these rites release the soul from the physical body, purify the elements, and assist it on its journey to the afterlife. The systematic issuance of threats by Islamic terror groups and local Kashmiri Muslims, forbidding the family from conducting these sacred rituals, demonstrated a profound hostility towards the deceased victim’s Hindu identity. By attempting to deny a family the right to perform these essential final rites, the perpetrators sought to erase the cultural and religious expressions of the Hindu community. The fact that the mere expression of Hindu traditions during a funeral was deemed unacceptable reveals the depth of animosity held towards the family’s faith. This attempt to block the Antyesti was an effort to deny the deceased her religious dignity and to terrorise the surviving family into spiritual submission. This illustrates how deeply the perpetrators resented the manifestation of Hindu identity. When the family chose to exercise their religious rights and defy these coercive restrictions, the subsequent attack by a mob of 200 Muslims highlighted the targeted nature of the violence. This assault was directly rooted in hostility towards the family’s Hindu identity and was executed as a punishment for their refusal to comply with dictates aimed at suppressing their religious practices. Attacking Hindu individuals for standing up for their right to perform traditional final rites constitutes a religiously motivated crime, where violence is used to enforce religious dominance and penalise adherence to the Hindu faith. The mob sought to establish a social order where Hindu religious practices could only occur with the permission of the majority Muslim community or under severe constraint. This turns a sacred religious duty into a flashpoint of physical conflict fueled by religious hatred and prejudice. The scale and intensity of the confrontation further demonstrate that the violence was a calculated response to the family's defiance of local Muslims. Targeting individuals who refuse to abandon their religious traditions under duress reflects a deep-seated animosity toward the Hindu community's presence and identity. This systematic hostility, directed at both the memory of the deceased and her surviving kin, confirms the incident as a hate crime designed to terrorise and subjugate a specific religious group, Hindus of Kashmir. The punishment inflicted upon the family for refusing to let their religious customs be dictated by external forces emphasises that the underlying motive was the complete suppression of Hindu identity, treating the assertion of ancestral religious rights as an offence that warranted violent communal retribution. The act of stomping on and kicking the cremated remains, or asthi, with shoes represents a deliberate defilement of sacred objects and customs holding profound religious sanctity. In Hindu tradition, the collected ashes are not mere material remnants but are sacred elements required for the final immersion rituals that signify ultimate peace and liberation for the departed soul. Intentionally defiling these remains with shoes, an act that is highly offensive and impure in Hindu culture, was a calculated attempt to humiliate the deceased victim and her family. This was done to ensure that even after death, her religious identity was targeted with profound disrespect. This specific act of defilement underscores the explicitly religious animosity that drove the perpetrators. It went beyond physical violence against the living and deliberately targeted the spiritual remains of the dead. By intentionally violating the sanctity and religious purity of the ashes, the perpetrators sought to inflict maximum psychological, emotional, and spiritual trauma on the Hindu family and the wider Hindu community. Furthermore, the desecration of the ashes constituted a direct assault on core Hindu religious beliefs by transforming a solemn rite of passage into an act of malicious degradation. It signalled that neither the living nor the dead of the Hindu community would be afforded dignity or peace. The subsequent escalation, involving targeted verbal abuse and a grenade attack on the Hindu family home, illustrates the enduring nature of this religious hostility. This progression, from the defilement of sacred ashes to attempted murder via a grenade strike, reveals that the animosity was absolute. It aimed not just to disrupt a ritual but to completely eliminate the physical presence of the Hindu family from the neighbourhood, cementing the incident as a comprehensive campaign of religiously driven hatred. The subsequent escalation, involving targeted verbal abuse and a grenade attack on the family home, further illustrates the enduring nature of this religious hostility. The deployment of explosive weapons against a domestic residence represents a severe escalation. It was intended to inflict maximum harm and enforce displacement. Combined with targeted insults, these actions demonstrate that the hostility extended far beyond the initial confrontation at the crematorium. It formed a sustained campaign of violence directed entirely at the family because of their faith and resilience. This attack took place during the 1990s persecution and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. During this period, Islamic terrorist groups such as the JKLF carried out targeted killings, rapes, intimidation, and the forced displacement of the Hindu community. The local Kashmiri Muslim population also actively supported this campaign through public mobilisation, intimidation, and endorsement. Against this backdrop, the family of Sarla Bhat suffered a horrific ordeal. Instead of expressing sympathy or allowing the grieving family to perform her last rites according to Hindu religious traditions, a Muslim mob brutally assaulted them and deliberately prevented the cremation from taking place. This was not an isolated or random communal confrontation. The timing, context, and nature of the attack demonstrate hostility towards a Hindu family at the height of the anti-Hindu campaign in the Kashmir Valley. By obstructing the funeral rites of a Hindu woman who had already been brutally victimised, the mob's actions reflected support for the broader campaign of persecution and the systematic genocide of Kashmiri Pandits from the region. Such conduct underscores the depth of religious hostility and anti-Hindu hatred that characterised this period, making the assault a clear case of a religiously motivated hate crime. Given that this case meets the parameters of a hate-driven offence, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when a victim's ordeal begins, rather than when the media reports an incident. However, in this case, the exact date on which Sarla Bhat's family was attacked while attempting to perform her last rites is not clearly stated in publicly available sources. The only confirmed date available is 18 April 1990, when Sarla Bhat was abducted and murdered. Accordingly, for documentation purposes, 18 April 1990 has been selected as the indicative incident date. This date is used solely for the purpose of maintaining a consistent chronological record and should not be construed as the confirmed date of the attack on her family. In this case, the exact number of members of Sarla Bhat's family who were assaulted or otherwise victimised during the attack is not clearly stated in publicly available sources. Accordingly, the total victim count has been recorded as "Unknown" for documentation purposes until reliable information confirming the number of victims becomes available.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
