The 1993 Lal Chowk fire (literally Red Square) refers to the arson attack on the main commercial centre of downtown Srinagar, Kashmir, that took place on 10 April 1993.

The fire is alleged by government officials to have been started by a crowd incited by militants,[1] while civilians and police officials interviewed by Human Rights Watch and other organisations allege that the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) set fire to the locality in retaliation for the burning of an abandoned BSF building by local residents.

[3] On 9 April 1993 at approximately 11:30 PM, BSF troops abandoned the Sanatan Dharm Sabha which had been their base within Lal Chowk.

When a company of approximately 100 BSF soldiers arrived, curfew orders were announced by megaphone, and the troops surrounded Lal Chowk and began firing indiscriminately.

[3] Other witnesses stated that the external latches of the buildings had been closed trapping the people inside, supposedly by the security forces.

[2] As the fire continued to spread through Lal Chowk, a number of locals attempted to escape the flames by fleeing across the Jhelum River in boats.