Overcome with grief, a mother stands amidst the rubble of what was once her family’s home. Just three months prior, police arrested her husband and ten other Muslims, accusing them of possessing beef – a prohibited food in most Indian states. The following morning, authorities arrived with bulldozers, razing their homes to the ground under the pretense of illegal construction on public land.
“What pains me the most is that I lost my daughter too,” the grieving mother laments. Her 16-year-old daughter, Zenith, succumbed to pneumonia just weeks after their home was demolished. With their house reduced to debris, the family sought refuge under a makeshift shelter. They cooked on one side, slept on the other, and when the monsoon rains flooded their precarious haven, they were forced to seek shelter elsewhere.
“They already took my husband to jail, why did they have to break my home?” she cries out. “If they hadn’t, my daughter would be alive.” The mother firmly believes that Zenith’s death resulted from the lack of protection from the harsh monsoon elements – a consequence of their home being demolished.
A mother stands in the rubble of her demolished home, grieving the loss of both her home and her daughter.
This incident is not an isolated one. Recently, there has been a concerning surge in demolitions across India, often carried out without prior notice and disproportionately targeting Muslim communities. Critics argue that these demolitions disregard due process, prompting the Supreme Court to intervene.
“None of the due process is actually followed,” explains a legal expert. “There is a system that the government must follow, a due process which it doesn’t actually respect. They go about razing people’s homes for no reason other than the fact that these people are Muslim.”
Despite repeated requests for comment, the Indian government has not responded to these allegations. However, the government has consistently denied accusations of targeting Muslims. “Show me one Muslim who can say I was innocent and has been a victim of injustice,” a government official challenges. “Show me one. Nobody can say this.”
His words ring hollow in the face of mounting evidence. A social media video that went viral last year depicts a group of Muslim boys allegedly spitting on a Hindu religious procession. Two days later, an announcement echoes through their neighborhood – the police will use the harshest punishment against them. Their home is swiftly reduced to rubble, leaving their bewildered father grappling with the injustice.
“They put up a notice saying the building is structurally unsafe and will be demolished. Take what you can, you have an hour,” he recounts, his voice laced with disbelief. His sons, merely accused of a crime, witness their entire family paying a devastating price.
A man stands amidst the wreckage of his demolished home, his face etched with despair and disbelief.
The increasing prevalence of these demolitions, often used as a means of punishment without due process, has raised serious concerns about the erosion of the rule of law and the targeting of minority communities in India. The Supreme Court’s intervention, calling for nationwide guidelines to regulate demolitions, offers a glimmer of hope that this disturbing trend can be halted and justice can be restored.
