Amnesty International has urged Indian authorities to immediately cease the “unlawful” demolition of Muslim properties. The organization released two reports detailing the targeting of homes, businesses, and places of worship across several states belonging to the minority community.
Describing the demolitions as a form of extrajudicial punishment, Amnesty demanded adequate compensation for those affected. The demolitions have left hundreds, mostly Muslims, homeless and their livelihoods destroyed.
The London-based rights group also called on the JCB construction equipment company, whose bulldozers were widely used in the demolitions, to publicly condemn the human rights violations.
The reports, titled “Bulldozer Injustice in India” and “JCB’s Role and Responsibility in Bulldozer Injustice in India,” document demolitions of at least 128 properties between April and June 2022. According to Amnesty, these actions have rendered at least 617 people homeless or destroyed their livelihoods.
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Authorities in five states—Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi—reportedly carried out demolitions as punishment following episodes of religious violence or protests by Muslims against discriminatory government policies. The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accused of anti-Muslim rhetoric, governs four out of the five states.
Amnesty International’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, condemned the demolitions as cruel and appalling, emphasizing the displacement and dispossession as deeply unjust, unlawful, and discriminatory.
Indian authorities have denied targeting the Muslim community, claiming the demolitions aimed to remove illegal encroachments. However, rights groups argue that Muslim properties were overwhelmingly targeted.
“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 are deeply unjust, unlawful, and discriminatory. They are destroying families — and must stop immediately,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general, in a statement on Wednesday.
