Map 16 · Conflict
Militant attacks in India, 1989–1999
- Region
- India, 1989–1999
- Data
- UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset 25.1, militant-initiated events, plus 119 attacks from Wikipedia and archived SATP sheets.
- Rule
- Same circle scale as maps 4, 5 and 9. Starts in 1989, when the Kashmir insurgency broke out; attacks known only by state are counted but not drawn.
729 attacks killed 6,444 people from 1989, when the Kashmir insurgency broke out, to 1999, on the same scale as the 2000–2019 map. Three conflicts dominate: the Kashmir insurgency, the last and deadliest years of the Sikh militancy in Punjab, which was over by 1993, and the insurgencies of the Northeast. The largest single circle is the 1993 Bombay bombings.
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- The South Asia Terrorism Portal has almost no India data before 2000, so this map is built on the Uppsala Conflict Data Program’s event dataset, which starts in 1989. Only militant-initiated events are kept: attacks by armed groups on civilians, and attacks on security forces. Communal riots, such as Bhagalpur in 1989 and the riots after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992–93, are left out; targeted attacks by Hindu nationalist groups, such as the 1999 killing of Graham Staines and his sons, are kept. Where a report does not say who attacked, an event counts when at least three security personnel died and at least as many of them as militants.
- 119 attacks that UCDP misses or places only by state, such as the Bombay and Coimbatore bombings, the Ludhiana train massacres and the Wandhama and Chamba massacres, were added from Wikipedia and archived SATP sheets. Where both sources hold an attack, the toll in its own Wikipedia article is used, otherwise the higher toll.
- 154 attacks (1,198 killed) are recorded only by state; they are counted in the table but not drawn. UCDP draws on wire reports, so many smaller attacks of the period are missing and the totals are a floor.
All attacks
Every attack on the map. Select a row to find it on the plate.
575 attacks
| Bombay serial blastsMumbai, MaharashtraTwelve coordinated bombs organised by D-Company killed 257 people across Bombay on 12 March 1993. | 257 | |
| Joupi massacreChandel, ManipurNSCN-IM militants massacred Kuki villagers in Joupi and nearby hill villages on 13 September 1993; Kuki sources put the toll at about 115. | 115 | |
| Ludhiana train massacresLudhiana, PunjabSikh militants stopped two trains near Ludhiana and shot passengers, killing about 80 mostly Hindus on election day. | 80 | |
| Massacre kills 69, KokrajharKokrajhar, AssamNDFB killed 69 civilians in Kokrajhar. Report: “60 die in separatist battles in northeast India.” | 69 | |
| Laxmanpur Bathe massacreArwal, BiharRanvir Sena gunmen killed 58 Dalits including 27 women and 16 children at Laxmanpur Bathe. | 58 | |
| Coimbatore serial blastsCoimbatore, Tamil NaduTwelve bombs in 11 places killed 58 people in Coimbatore, attributed to Al Umma and aimed at an L. K. Advani rally. | 58 | |
| Bodo killings Oct 1993Kokrajhar, AssamBodo militants killed 50 people in Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts according to SATP. | 50 | |
| December train shootings, LudhianaLudhiana, PunjabGunmen stopped a passenger train near Ludhiana and shot Hindu passengers, killing 49. | 49 | |
| Militant attack kills 47, HyderabadHydrabad, Andhra PradeshPWG killed 47 civilians in Hyderabad. | 47 | |
| Militant attack kills 44, BajburKheri, Uttar PradeshSikh insurgents killed 44 civilians in Bajbur. | 44 | |
| Rudrapur Ramlila bombingsNainital, Uttar PradeshTwo bombs exploded at a Ramlila ground in Rudrapur and near the hospital treating the injured, killing more than 40. | 41 | |
| Militant attack kills 40, BatalaGurdaspur, PunjabSikh insurgents killed 40 civilians in Batala. | 40 | |
| Militant attack kills 38, GuwahatiKamrup Metropolitan, AssamNDFB killed 38 civilians in Guwahati. | 38 | |
| Sinam Khul bus massacreTamenglong, ManipurKNF militants stopped a bus carrying 45 passengers and pushed it into a gorge, killing 37. | 37 | |
| Bara massacreGaya, BiharMCC militants killed about 35 Bhumihar villagers at Bara. | 35 | |
| Chamba massacreChamba, Himachal PradeshMilitants killed 35 people, mostly Hindu labourers, at Kalaban and Satrundi in Chamba district. | 35 | |
| Senari massacreJehanabad, BiharMCC militants killed about 34 Bhumihar villagers at Senari. | 34 | |
| Brahmaputra Mail train bombingKokrajhar, AssamA bomb planted next to the track blew up the Brahmaputra Mail between Kokrajhar and Fakiragram, killing at least 33 passengers. | 33 | |
| Militant attack kills 31, AboharFazilka, PunjabSikh insurgents killed 31 civilians in Abohar. | 31 | |
| Militant attack kills 31, BarnalaBarnala, PunjabSikh insurgents killed 31 civilians in Barnala. | 31 | |
| Shooting kills civilians, KohimaKohima, NagalandNSCN-IM killed 30 civilians in Kohima. | 30 | |
| Militant attack kills 29, PilibhitPilibhit, Uttar PradeshSikh insurgents killed 29 civilians in Pilibhit. | 29 | |
| Prankote massacreUdhampur, Jammu and KashmirMilitants killed 29 Hindu villagers in Prankote and neighbouring hamlets. | 29 | |
| Shooting kills civilians, Dhaki KoteReasi, Jammu and KashmirKashmir insurgents killed 29 civilians in Dhaki Kote. | 29 | |
| Militant attack kills 28, BarpetaBarpeta, AssamNDFB killed 28 civilians in Barpeta. | 28 | |
| Shooting kills civilians, Karbi AnglongKarbi Anglong East, AssamNSCN-IM killed 27 civilians in Karbi Anglong. | 27 | |
| Moga RSS shakha massacreFaridkot, PunjabSikh militants opened fire on an RSS gathering at Nehru Park, Moga, killing 21 RSS members and 5 others. | 26 | |
| Militant attack kills 26, TohanaFatehabad, HaryanaSikh insurgents killed 26 civilians in Tohana. | 26 | |
| Chapnari wedding massacreDoda, Jammu and KashmirMilitants killed 26 members of two wedding parties at Chapnari village. | 26 | |
| Bomb attack kills 25, RangiaBaksa, AssamABSU killed 25 bus passengers in Rangia. Report: “Bus Bomb Death Toll Rises to 25.” | 25 | |
| SoporeBaramula, Jammu and KashmirKashmir insurgents killed 25 security personnel in Sopore. Report: “Kashmir troubles continue.” | 25 | |
| Attack kills soldiers, SrinagarSrinagar, Jammu and KashmirKashmir insurgents killed 25 soldiers in Srinagar. Report: “Indian troops reportedly killed in rocket attack on Srinagar temple.” | 25 | |
| HyderabadHydrabad, Andhra PradeshPWG killed 23 people in Hyderabad. Report: “India bomb result of group rivalry -chief minister.” | 23 | |
| Wandhama massacreGanderbal, Jammu and KashmirMilitants killed 23 Kashmiri Pandits, including women and children, at Wandhama. | 23 | |
| Kokrajhar Muslim settler massacreKokrajhar, AssamBodo militants killed 23 Muslim settlers in Kokrajhar district. | 23 | |
| Militant attack kills 22, KangkopkiKangpokpi, ManipurNSCN-IM killed 22 civilians in Kangkopki. | 22 | |
| Bombing kills soldiers, LumdingHojai, AssamNSCN-IM killed 22 soldiers in Lumding. Report: “At least 22 soldiers killed in bomb blast in India.” | 22 | |
| Shooting kills civilians, KalyanpurKhowai, TripuraNLFT killed 22 civilians in Kalyanpur. | 22 | |
| Shankarbigha massacreArwal, BiharRanvir Sena killed 22 Dalit men, women and children at Shankarbigha. | 22 | |
| Bathani Tola massacreBhojpur, BiharRanvir Sena killed 21 Dalits, mostly women and children, at Bathani Tola. | 21 | |
| Jammu bomb explosionJammu, Jammu and KashmirA bomb explosion in Jammu killed 20 people. | 20 | |
| Dhalai bomb blast 1997Dhalai, TripuraA bomb blast allegedly set off by NLFT in Dhalai district killed nine security personnel and 11 other persons. | 20 | |
| Militant attack kills 19, PatialaPatiala, PunjabSikh insurgents killed 19 civilians in Patiala. | 19 | |
| Patiala killings same nightPatiala, PunjabMilitants killed 19 people in Patiala district on the night of the Ludhiana train massacres. | 19 | |
| Ambush kills security personnel, South TripuraGomati, TripuraNLFT killed 19 security personnel in South Tripura. | 19 | |
| Shooting kills civilians, PoonchPunch, Jammu and KashmirKashmir insurgents killed 19 civilians in Poonch. | 19 | |
| Militant attack kills 18, LudhianaLudhiana, PunjabSikh insurgents killed 18 civilians in Ludhiana. | 18 | |
| Attack kills police, KhammamBhadradri, Andhra PradeshPWG killed 18 people (police) in Khammam. Report: “Left-wing militants kill 16 Indian police.” | 18 | |
| Attack kills soldiers, SurankotePunch, Jammu and KashmirKashmir insurgents killed 18 soldiers in Surankote. Report: “Militants kill 18 soldiers; anti-rape protests held.” | 18 | |
| Attack kills people, DhalaiWest Tripura, TripuraNLFT killed 18 people in Dhalai. Report: “At least 18 killed by militants in northeast India.” | 18 |
Sources
- Uppsala Conflict Data Program, UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (GED) Global version 25.1, events in India 1989–1999 (CC BY 4.0); Sundberg and Melander (2013), Journal of Peace Research 50(4).
- Wikipedia articles on individual attacks and massacres in India, 1989–1999 (raw wikitext), and the archived South Asia Terrorism Portal data sheets for Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mumbai, Delhi and railway attacks, used to add attacks missing from UCDP; each added row and its source link is in the CSV.
- Place names: GeoNames gazetteer for Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia. Neighbouring countries: Natural Earth.
- District geometry: Blank Districts of Pakistan.svg by Abbasi786786 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); geoBoundaries IND ADM2 (Local Government Directory, 2021) and CHN ADM0, aligned to the Commons map.