Defying court orders, Muslim homes razed India, Hindu houses 'untouched'
The demolition drive, part of a wider eviction effort, has led to accusations of religious discrimination.
Faruk Ahmed, a shopkeeper whose home was destroyed, told Indian media that no Hindu homes were touched.
Villagers from Kachutali 1 Assam India, filed a contempt petition against the state government in the Supreme Court after their homes were demolished despite a court order suspending demolitions nationwide.
The residents, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of violating a 17 September order that halted bulldozer actions across India until 1 October.
On 24-25 September, nearly 350 homes in Kachutali 1 were demolished. Villagers say they have land deeds dating back to the 1920s, asserting that the land was not public property.
However, local authorities cited their eviction notice, which claimed the villagers were illegally occupying land in a "tribal belt" protected by Assam Land Revenue laws.
The controversy arises amid a broader trend of bulldozing homes as punitive measures in states ruled by the BJP, a practice challenged by multiple petitions in the Supreme Court.
The Kamrup (Metro) district administration’s eviction drive in Kachutali 1 took a violent turn when police opened fire on protesting villagers on 12 September, killing two Bengali Muslims. The three-day demolition campaign, which began on 9 September, reportedly razed 237 structures in the village, according to Indian media.
The police action followed clashes between protesting residents and district officials. Two young men were shot dead, and 35 people, including locals and officials, were injured. The eviction is part of a broader push by Assam’s BJP-led government to remove what they call “illegal settlers” from state land.
Since coming to power in 2016, the BJP government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been accused by rights groups of targeting the state’s Bengali-speaking Muslim minority through selective eviction drives. Over 10,620 families have been evicted from various districts since 2016.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was re-elected in 2021, has faced criticism for his inflammatory rhetoric against Bengali Muslims, accusing them of demographic changes and other unfounded claims.
His government’s policies, including shutting down madrassas and scrapping a Friday prayer break for Muslim legislators, have been criticised for further marginalising the community.
Earlier in February this year, Amnesty International called for an immediate halt to India’s widespread unlawful demolitions of Muslim homes, businesses, and places of worship using JCB bulldozers and other machinery.
Two reports — ‘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’ — highlighted the punitive destruction of Muslim properties across at least Indian five states. Bulldozers have become the tool of choice in a hate-driven campaign against the Muslim minority, with demolitions carried out with near-total impunity, as seen during the Mira Road demolitions following a violent Ram Temple rally in Mumbai last month.