Thursday, February 8, 2024
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ISLAMABAD (Urdu Point. DW Urdu. 08 February 2024) International human rights organization termed the destruction of property as a form of extrajudicial punishment and demanded that all the victims should be adequately compensated as this move by the Modi government has killed hundreds of people. People, mostly Muslims, have been displaced and their livelihoods destroyed.
Amnesty also called on construction equipment manufacturer JCB to publicly denounce the use of its machines for human rights abuses.
Bulldozers from the same company have been used extensively in "punitive" property demolitions.
Bulldozer politics
In its two reports Bulldozer Injustice in India and JCB's Role and Responsibility in Bulldozer Injustice in India, Amnesty documented the demolition of at least 128 properties between April and June 2022 in just three months.
At least 617 people were either displaced or their livelihoods destroyed due to them, the report said.
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It said authorities in five states, Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, demolished properties as "punishment" after incidents of religious violence or protests by Muslims against the government's discriminatory policies. . Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been accused of anti-Muslim rhetoric, is in power in four of the five.
Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callomard said, "The illegal demolition of Muslim property by Indian authorities, which political leaders and the media call 'bulldozer justice', is cruel and appalling... They are destroying families. It should be stopped immediately."
"The authorities have repeatedly undermined the rule of law, destroying homes, shops and places of worship by using hatred, intimidation, violence and JCB bulldozers as weapons," Callamard added in a statement issued on Wednesday.
These human rights violations must be addressed immediately."
Bulldozing of properties continues
Muslim houses and shops were bulldozed in Mumbai, India's economic hub, after communal violence erupted following the inauguration of a Ram temple by Prime Minister Modi in the city of Ayodhya last month.
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Earlier, more than 300 Muslim properties were demolished following communal violence in the outskirts of national capital Delhi.
In 2021, a 100-year-old mosque was demolished in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district, while in 2023, a 16th-century mosque was demolished in the name of road expansion in Prayagraj city.
Indian analysts say that the bulldozer has become a symbol of persecution of Muslims in India. Especially since Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, who started a policy of demolishing the properties of the accused in the name of delivering speedy justice.
After them, other BJP-ruled states are also following this policy.
Legal experts declare it against Indian law and the Supreme Court has also expressed its displeasure over it, but the 'bulldozer justice' is still going on.
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However, BJP leaders claim that these demolitions are actually against illegal encroachments and only the properties of criminals or miscreants have been targeted.
Interestingly, these people belonging to the right wing also celebrate demolitions.
Is bulldozing legal?
Civil society members, social workers and opposition politicians believe that such demolition of buildings is a deliberate policy of "targeted violence" against minority communities like Muslims.
Brinda Karat, a former member of parliament from the left-wing Communist Party of India, opposed the demolition in Delhi, saying that bulldozers were deliberately used to target Muslims under the guise of clearing encroachments.
Fear of displacement of thousands of Muslim families in India
Amnesty said in its report that the demolition was carried out without following due process of law.
The occupants of the buildings were not warned before the demolition or given enough time to leave their properties and save their belongings. Amnesty spoke to 75 people affected by the demolition, of whom only six had received any prior notification from the authorities.
In the context of the demolition operations in Noh, a suburb of Delhi, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in its comments, said, "The question also arises as to whether buildings belonging to a particular community can be destroyed under the guise of a law and order problem." are being demolished and ethnic cleansing is being practiced by the state.
"The court said that no legal action was taken before the demolition and advance notices were not issued to those who lost their property.
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"India is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which obliges it to respect and fulfill the right to adequate housing," Amnesty's report said. This includes the right to adequate housing, the right to work and the right to social security.
How liable is the bulldozer company JCB?
Bulldozers manufactured by UK-based Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators (JCB) are commonly used for these demolition operations, Amnesty found.
The report states that JCB bulldozers are such a prominent part of building demolition in India that "JCB" and "bulldozer" are considered synonymous.
BJP leaders are adamant about using JCB. In an April 2022 post, BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao referred to the JCB as a "jihadi control board". However, he has now deleted the post.
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Amnesty said in its report that JCB was responsible for determining whether its machinery was used for punitive demolitions and included clauses in its sales contracts, which Reduce human rights violations.
"The company should publicly condemn the use of its machinery for human rights abuses," Amnesty added.
Meanwhile, JCB has stated in its response to Amnesty that there is no direct link between JCB and the alleged human rights violations and that most of its machinery is supplied by JCB India through independent third-party dealers. Sold by
The company also stated that JCB cannot control the use of its products once sold to consumers and that JCB has no control over who uses its products or its dealership network.
It should be noted that Amnesty has previously declared JCB involved in human rights violations.
