Priors
Precedents

Kashmir unrest after the killing of Burhan Wani, 2016

8 Jul 2016 – 2 Nov 2016, Jammu and Kashmir

Security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in Kokernag, Anantnag, on 8 July 2016. Mass protests followed across the Kashmir Valley. The PDP-BJP state government imposed curfew and other restrictions, mobile internet and phone networks were suspended, and newspaper printing was halted for several days, while security forces used pellet guns on crowds. The Union Home Minister announced an expert committee on alternatives to pellet guns on 21 July.

Draft. Written with AI help from the sources listed. Not yet checked by a person. 5 claims are held back until sourced. Report an error

In power
PDP: Jammu and Kashmir; BJP: Centre

What the government did

  1. Jul 2016

    FiringCentreShare

    Security forces used 12-bore pellet guns, tear gas and live ammunition against protesters.

    MoreLess · 10 sources

    Counts of deaths and injuries differ by source and date (see figures). On 9 July the J&K Police (ADGP, CID, S. M. Sahai) said seven of that day's deaths were caused by retaliatory action by security forces after mobs attacked police posts, a police station and police and CRPF camps. In the Lok Sabha on 21 July, Rajnath Singh said security forces had shown maximum restraint, that someone might have made a mistake somewhere, and that pellet guns had caused one death and about 53 eye injuries. The J&K High Court Bar Association, in a petition filed in July 2016, alleged excessive force and said people watching clashes, including teenagers, had been hit in the eyes, skull and throat. In its order of 21 September 2016 the High Court said that security personnel, their camps and police stations were targeted by unruly crowds almost every day, and that many persons were injured by pellet guns. Before the Supreme Court on 10 April 2017, the Attorney General said the forces used staggered force, with pellet guns and then live ammunition used only when a mob came close.

    • 33 civilians killed, said Union Home Minister (Rajya Sabha) [11]
    • 1,948 civilians injured, said Union Home Minister (Rajya Sabha) [11]
    • 1,671 security force personnel injured, said Union Home Minister (Rajya Sabha) [11]
    • 38 civilians killed, said Union Home Minister (Lok Sabha) [10]
    • 2,180 civilians injured, said Union Home Minister (Lok Sabha) [10]
    • 1,739 security force personnel injured, said Union Home Minister (Lok Sabha) [10]
    • 1 deaths caused by pellet guns, said Union Home Minister (Lok Sabha) [10]
    • about 53 people with pellet injuries to the eyes, said Union Home Minister (Lok Sabha) [10]
    • 2 deaths caused by pellet guns, said Kashmir Life [5]
    • at least 35 youths who lost eyesight to pellets, said Kashmir Life [5]
    • 11 killed on 9 July, said The Indian Express [14]
    • 7 deaths on 9 July caused by retaliatory action of security forces, said J&K Police (ADGP S. M. Sahai) [14]
    • 31 killed by 11 July, said Global Voices [8]
    • about 444 injured by 11 July, said Global Voices [8]
    • at least 45 civilians killed by 21 July, said Reporters Without Borders [3]
    • more than 1,600 injured by 21 July, said Reporters Without Borders [3]
    • 47 killed by 26 July, said PTI [16]
    • 5,500 injured by 26 July, said PTI [16]
    • 73 death toll by 2 September, said The Hindu [22]
    • about 4,000 injured, said J&K High Court Bar Association (petitioner) [12]
    • about 100 blinded, said J&K High Court Bar Association (petitioner) [12]
    • 510 pellet-injured patients referred to hospitals outside the state, said Director [12]
    • 54 persons paid ex gratia for permanent disablement (Rs 0.75 lakh each), said J&K Home Department (affidavit) [12]
    • 10 persons paid ex gratia for partial disablement (Rs 0.50 lakh each), said J&K Home Department (affidavit) [12]

    Court: On 21 September 2016 the J&K High Court declined to prohibit pellet guns in rare and extreme situations until the expert committee reported and the government decided, and said whether force was excessive in a given incident needed a factual finding by a competent authority. [12]

    Court: On 11 March 2020 the High Court dismissed the petition, holding that the state had met its obligation by ex gratia payments to most of the injured, and that individuals could sue for further compensation. [12]

    Sources [12][13][10][11][14][5][3][8][16][22]

  2. 8 Jul 2016

    Internet shutdownState government, Jammu and KashmirShare

    Mobile internet was suspended across the Valley after Wani's killing; Hindustan Times and CPJ date this to 8 July, Madhyamam to 9 July.

    MoreLess · 8 sources

    Mobile internet was also suspended in the Jammu region on the evening of 9 July. Hindustan Times reported that non-BSNL mobile phone services were blocked from 14 to 26 July, that private networks were suspended again on the night of 11 August, and that mobile internet was still suspended on 12 August. PTI reported that mobile phone services were cut on 13 August and postpaid services restored on 20 August. In the Rajya Sabha on 18 July, Rajnath Singh said he agreed that the ban on the internet and newspapers should be lifted soon. In the Lok Sabha on 21 July he said the Chief Minister had told him the internet had been blocked for a short time and the restrictions had since been removed; Tathagata Satpathy said the internet was still not working, and Singh replied that the government had not shut it down.

    Sources [11][10][4][15][20][18][2][3]

  3. 9 Jul 2016

    CurfewState government, Jammu and KashmirShare

    Authorities imposed curfew and other restrictions from 9 July.

    MoreLess · 9 sources

    Madhyamam reported restrictions that day in Pulwama district, the towns of Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam and Sopore, and areas under seven Srinagar police stations; a PTI report said curfew was imposed across Kashmir on 9 July. The J&K High Court recorded that the State Government had passed orders under Section 144 CrPC restricting the movement of people and vehicles. In the Lok Sabha on 21 July, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Chief Minister had ordered relaxation of the curfew in the evening and night hours. Curfew was lifted and reimposed in stages: PTI reported it lifted from all parts except Anantnag town on 26 July, reimposed across Kashmir on 29 July, and in force in Srinagar district and the towns of Anantnag and Pampore on 20 August. The Hindu reported curfew lifted from all ten Valley districts on 31 August and reimposed in Srinagar and other district headquarters and towns on 2 September.

    Legal basis: Section 144 CrPC (orders restricting movement of people and vehicles, as recorded by the J&K High Court on 21 September 2016)

    Sources [10][12][4][14][16][17][18][21][22]

  4. 16 Jul 2016

    CensorshipState government, Jammu and KashmirShare

    Police raided newspaper offices and printing presses in and around Srinagar on the night of 15-16 July, seized printing plates and printed copies, and briefly detained staff, according to CPJ, RSF and AP.

    MoreLess · 7 sources

    Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, Kashmir Observer, Kashmir Times, Daily Kashmir Images, Kashmir Reader and Kashmir Uzma were among the papers affected. CPJ reported that newspapers were kept from publishing for three days and that cable television was blocked on 16 July. Accounts differ on who ordered the ban. Government spokesperson and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said the measures were aimed at saving lives and strengthening peace efforts. On 18 July the Chief Minister's political adviser Amitabh Mattoo said the decision had been taken without the Chief Minister's knowledge, possibly at a local level. On 19 July Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu said Mehbooba Mufti had told him there was no ban, and on 21 July Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha that the Chief Minister had said there was no restriction on the press. IANS reported that newspapers were to resume on 21 July after the Chief Minister met editors, who said she had regretted the ban.

    Sources [2][3][24][19][11][10][25]

  5. 21 Jul 2016

    Commission of inquiryCentreShare

    Replying to the Lok Sabha debate on 21 July, Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced an expert committee to recommend non-lethal alternatives to pellet guns, to report within two months.

    MoreLess · 8 sources

    On 26 July he approved a seven-member committee chaired by T. V. S. N. Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, with officers of the CRPF, BSF, J&K Police and Ordnance Factory Board and experts from TBRL Chandigarh and IIT Delhi. In Srinagar on 25 August he said an alternative would be given within a few days. Tribune News Service reported that the committee favoured chilli-based PAVA shells, and a government official told PTI on 29 August that pellet guns would not be banned but would be used only in the rarest of rare cases.

    Sources [10][30][12][1][5][6][31][32]

Outcome

Curfew and restrictions were lifted and reimposed in stages through August and September 2016. A state government committee later identified persons disabled in the disturbances of 8 July to 2 November 2016 for ex gratia payments. The J&K High Court declined to ban pellet guns in September 2016 and dismissed the petition in March 2020.

Background

Who governed at the start of the protest. Each action above counts for the party in power where and when it happened.

Centre government
BJPNDA, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
State government
PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, Chief Minister
Places
Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Tral, Sopore, Pampore
Cause
Protest against the killing of Burhan Wani; separatist demand for self-determination
Organisers
Separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Asiya Andrabi called valley-wide shutdowns
Scale
Valley-wide. Casualty counts differ by source and date: the Union Home Minister told the Lok Sabha on 21 July that 38 civilians had been killed and 2,180 injured; The Hindu reported a toll of 73 by 2 September; petitioners in the J&K High Court put the number injured at about 4,000

What they said

Words in quote marks were matched in the source. Everything else is a summary; open the source for the exact words. Each statement says whether the speaker's party was in power or in opposition at the time.

In power

Replying to the Lok Sabha debate, said everyone was deeply sorry for those killed and injured in Kashmir, that Kashmiri youth were also patriots but some had been misled, and that Pakistan had a key role in the unrest. He said he and the Prime Minister had told security forces to exercise maximum restraint, that someone might have made a mistake somewhere, and that an expert committee would report on alternatives to pellet guns within two months.

Summary, not a quote

BJPRajnath Singh, Union Home Minister21 Jul 2016[10][6]

In opposition

Opening the Rajya Sabha discussion, said his party stood with the government against militancy but that a distinction had to be made between militants and ordinary people. He said about 1,800 people had been injured, most by pellet guns and bullets, asked whether the bullet used against militants should be used against children, old men and women, and asked for the use of pellet guns to be stopped.

Summary, not a quote

INCGhulam Nabi Azad, Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha18 Jul 2016[11][23]

Sources

  1. 1PRS Parliament Diary: Monsoon Session Day 4, 21 July 2016PRS Legislative Research, 21 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 15 Jan 2019
  2. 2Indian authorities shut down media outlets in Jammu and KashmirCommittee to Protect Journalists, 18 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 7 Aug 2020
  3. 3RSF condemns Kashmir media blackout by Indian authoritiesReporters Without Borders, 21 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 24 May 2022
  4. 4Mobile internet services suspended in KashmirMadhyamam, 9 Jul 2016T5 Secondary
  5. 5#KashmirNow: GoI to review use of pellet gunsKashmir Life, 21 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 22 Jul 2016
  6. 6Govt will look at non-lethal alternatives to pellet guns: Rajnath SinghPTI via rajnathsingh.in (Home Minister's website), 22 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 29 Nov 2021
  7. 7India kills top rebel leader in Kashmir, braces for protestsRFE/RL (copy on ecoi.net), 9 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 9 Oct 2024
  8. 8Dozens killed after Indian forces crackdown on protests in KashmirGlobal Voices, 11 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 12 Jul 2016
  9. 9Day 20: Didn't know Burhan was in Bemdoora, says CMKashmir Life, 28 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 29 Jul 2016
  10. 10Lok Sabha Debates, 21 July 2016 (English version, translated by the Lok Sabha Secretariat with AI tools): discussion under Rule 193 on the situation in the Kashmir Valley, reply of the Home Minister, pp. 87-105Lok Sabha Secretariat, 21 Jul 2016T1 Record
  11. 11Rajya Sabha official debates, 18 July 2016: short duration discussion on the situation in the Kashmir Valley (Azad opening, pp. 348-349; Home Minister's reply, pp. 409-414)Rajya Sabha Secretariat, 18 Jul 2016, In HindiT1 RecordArchived 14 Apr 2024
  12. 12J&K High Court Bar Association vs Union of India and others, WP(C) (PIL) No. 14/2016 (judgment quoting the order of 21 September 2016)High Court of Jammu and Kashmir (text on Indian Kanoon), 11 Mar 2020T2 CourtArchived 14 Mar 2020
  13. 13Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Srinagar vs Union of India, SLP (C) No. 33734/2016, record of proceedingsSupreme Court of India (text on Indian Kanoon), 10 Apr 2017T2 Court
  14. 14J&K: 11 killed, over 200 hurt as Burhan Wani's death sparks violence, protestsThe Indian Express, Muzamil Jaleel, Mir Ehsan, 10 Jul 2016T4 ReportArchived 10 Jul 2016
  15. 15Amarnath pilgrims stranded after vehicular traffic suspended along Jammu-Srinagar highwayThe Indian Express, Arun Sharma, 9 Jul 2016T4 ReportArchived 10 Jul 2016
  16. 16Kashmir unrest: Barring Anantnag, curfew lifted from all parts; schools remain shutPTI via The Indian Express, 26 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 27 Jul 2016
  17. 17Curfew remains in force in some parts of Kashmir ValleyPTI via The Indian Express, 30 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 30 Jul 2016
  18. 18Mobile telephone services restored in Kashmir ValleyPTI via The Indian Express, 20 Aug 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 21 Aug 2016
  19. 19No ban on newspapers in J&K: Mehbooba to NaiduPTI via The Indian Express, 19 Jul 2016T5 Secondary
  20. 20Kashmir: Mobile network blocked again amid fears of Friday clashesHindustan Times, Abhishek Saha, 12 Aug 2016T4 Report
  21. 21One killed, 100 injured in ValleyThe Hindu, 31 Aug 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 16 Apr 2023
  22. 22Authorities impose curfew in KashmirThe Hindu, 2 Sep 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 15 Apr 2023
  23. 23Rajnath blames Pakistan for bloodshed in KashmirThe Hindu, 19 Jul 2016T5 Secondary
  24. 24It was mistake to ban media, says Mehbooba govtAP via Arab News, 21 Jul 2016T5 Secondary
  25. 25Kashmir newspapers to resume from ThursdayIANS via The Morung Express, 20 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 16 Jul 2018
  26. 26Pakistan influencing Wani's sympathisers, says NaiduIANS via The News Minute, 10 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 5 Aug 2024
  27. 27Nobody knew Burhan was holed up: Mehbooba MuftiIANS via The News Minute, 28 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 13 Apr 2024
  28. 28Mehbooba Mufti to hold all party meet on Kashmir today; NC to stay awayThe Asian Age, 21 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 22 Jul 2016
  29. 29National Conference not to attend Kashmir all-party meetIANS via Oneindia, 21 Jul 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 22 Jul 2016
  30. 30Expert Committee for exploring other possible alternatives to Pellet Guns as Non-lethal Weapons constituted (PIB release, copy on the Home Minister's website)rajnathsingh.in (Home Minister's website), 26 Jul 2016T1 RecordArchived 29 Nov 2021
  31. 31In place of pellet guns, chilli-based 'PAVA shells' likelyThe Tribune, 26 Aug 2016T5 Secondary
  32. 32No blanket ban on pellet guns, but to be used in rare casesPTI via Business Standard, 29 Aug 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 2 Sep 2016

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Entry last updated 15 Oct 2026. Something wrong or missing? Edit content/precedents/kashmir-unrest-2016.yaml