- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
The Amnesty International called on both India’s federal and state governments to immediately halt the de-facto policy of demolishing people’s homes as a form of extra-judicial punishment and ensure that nobody is made homeless.
By: Shubham Ghosh
HUMAN rights body Amnesty International on Wednesday (7) said the widespread “unlawful demolitions” of houses, businesses and places of worship of members of India’s minority Muslim community through the use of JCB bulldozers and other machines must stop immediately.
In two reports, titled “If you speak up, your house will be demolished: Bulldozer Injustice in India” and “Unearthing Accountability: JCB’s Role and Responsibility in Bulldozer Injustice in India”, the rights group documented the “punitive demolition” of Muslim properties in at least five states across the country with a widespread use of JCB-branded bulldozers or diggers as the brand of choice in a alleged hate campaign against the minority community.
The Amnesty International called on both India’s federal and state governments to immediately halt the de-facto policy of demolishing people’s homes as a form of extra-judicial punishment and ensure that nobody is made homeless as a result of forced evictions.
They must also offer adequate compensation to all those affected by the demolitions and ensure that those responsible for these violations are held to account, the rights group said.
“The unlawful demolition of Muslim properties by the Indian authorities, peddled as ‘bulldozer justice’ by political leaders and media, is cruel and appalling. Such displacement and dispossession is deeply unjust, unlawful and discriminatory. They are destroying families — and must stop immediately,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general.
(With PTI inputs)
