After bearing the brunt of persecution at the hands of Islamic rulers for more than 400 years, it was only in 1820 that Kashmiri Hindus began to breathe freely, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh took over the reins of the Valley. The wounds of the Kashmiri Hindus began to heal. It was a period of peaceful development and fair governance, which continued much into the Dogra rule until early 20th century. Around same time, while British colonial power was failing in countering India’s independence movement, it was also using the time tested and proven ‘divide and rule’ strategy in Kashmir.

It supported and promoted Muslim insurgency against the Dogra rule in Jammu & Kashmir and implanted activists like Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah in the Valley. Sheikh Abdullah, after graduating from Aligarh Muslim University, got active in the ‘Muslim Reading Room’ party in the Valley, with the key objective of creating a revolt against Dogra King Maharaja Hari Singh. Sheikh Abdullah and his party leaders started gathering in big numbers in mosques and instigating the masses with their fiery and provocative speeches. And then came July 13, 1931 — a black day in the history of Kashmiri Hindus. That day, Kashmiri Hindus were once again made targets and subjected to vicious attacks. Shops and houses belonging to Kashmiri Hindus were ransacked and burnt down. Several Kashmiri Hindu innocents were killed in Kanikoot, a village few miles outside of Srinagar city.

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