1998 Wandhama Massacre: 28 Years On, a Wound That Refuses to Heal

Every year on 26 January, memories of a tragic incident resurface in Wandhama village of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, where 23 Kashmiri Pandits were brutally killed in the dead of night in 1998.

Even after 28 years, the massacre remains deeply etched in the minds of local residents. The victims belonged to four Kashmiri Pandit families, along with five relatives who had come from Jammu. They had chosen to stay back in Kashmir at a time when most members of the community had migrated due to militancy.

The killings took place on the intervening night of 25 and 26 January 1998, coinciding with Shab-e-Qadr. At that time, local Muslims were offering special prayers at the mosque when they heard gunshots and cries.
“At first, we thought it was army patrolling ahead of Republic Day,” locals recalled. Soon after, word spread that Pandit houses and the local temple had been set on fire.
Villagers rushed to the area and were shocked to see homes in flames and bodies lying in pools of blood.
On the morning of 26 January, 23 of the 24 members of the four families were found dead. Vinod Kumar, also known as Ashu, who was 14 years old at the time, was the lone survivor. He managed to escape by hiding under a heap of straw near his house.

“They dragged and shot my family members after firing indiscriminately,” Ashu later told the police, according to locals.
The massacre shocked the entire nation. Then Prime Minister I.K. Gujral visited Wandhama on 28 January 1998 to console the families. He was accompanied by Governor K.V. Krishna Rao, then Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, and Union Minister Saifuddin Soz.
Locals say the victims were symbols of communal harmony who had lived peacefully with their Muslim neighbours and had resisted migration.

Even today, justice remains elusive, with the case still largely unresolved and no conclusive accountability established.
The damaged houses of the victims remain abandoned, standing as silent reminders of the tragedy. Every year on 26 January, locals remember the victims, describing the massacre as “a killing of humanity.”
Ashu, the lone survivor, now lives outside Kashmir, carrying lifelong trauma from that horrific night.
Despite the tragedy, locals say the brotherhood between Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits from Wandhama remains intact. Many migrated Pandit families continue to visit the village and stay with their Muslim neighbours.
“It still pains us to see those houses without inhabitants,” said Sajad Ahmed, a local resident.
“We shared our joys and sorrows with our Pandit brothers. Those days will never be forgotten,” Mushtaq Ahmed added.