THE Jammu Massacres of October–November 1947 remain one of the darkest and least-discussed tragedies of the Partition era. While much has been written, debated and analyzed by scholars from Pakistan, India and across the world including Europe, America and Australia, this article seeks to provide a concise, research-based perspective on the Jammu Massacre and its broader context in the early months following the creation of Pakistan. This analysis is structured around three key questions: (a) Who killed the Muslims in Jammu and surrounding areas and under whose orders? (b) What actually happened during the massacres? C) What were India’s underlying motives and objectives behind these events?

Historians generally agree that the Jammu Massacres were not spontaneous. They were the consequence of two preceding developments. First, the communal violence that erupted across northern India following partition had already led to the large-scale killing of Muslims migrating from India to Pakistan. Millions of Muslims, fearing for their safety in the newly created India, undertook perilous journeys towards Pakistan. They were attacked by Hindu and Sikh mobs, particularly in East Punjab. Second, the Poonch Revolt in the former Poonch Jagir against the oppressive Dogra regime added fuel to the fire. The Muslim population of Poonch,........

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