Washington, D.C. (January 4, 2023) – The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), a US-based organisation of the Indian Muslim diaspora, “dedicated to social justice, peace, and pluralism”, has strongly condemned the planned demolition of over 4,000 Muslim homes and dwellings in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, a state ruled by Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The organisation has further urged the Indian Supreme Court, that will hear a batch of petitions challenging the order on January 5, to ensure that the state government is not allowed to continue with its punitive demolitions, which are in direct violation of national jurisprudence on the right to housing being a fundamental right as all international human rights law.
Last month, the Uttarakhand High Court allowed these demolitions while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ravi Shankar Joshi in 2013. Joshi is an individual known for his partisan views in political and public life, besides being reportedly a close sympathiser with the ultra supremacist, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The Uttarakhand high court, while passing an order on Joshi’s PIL, claimed that the families were “unauthorized occupants” living on “encroached” land belonging to the Indian Railways. However, reportds from the ground reveal that residents have been able to prove this claim as blatantly false through sale deeds and copies of leases, which would suggest that they are, in fact, rightful owners of their properties.
Controversially, the court ordered the demolition drive despite pending appeals against the false encroachment claims by several residents.
Local authorities have announced that bulldozers will “pounce on encroachers” while overseen by 7,000 police officers and 15 paramilitary groups. Therefore, says the IAMC statement, these forces will likely use violent tactics to brutalise Muslims who attempt to defend their homes.
Thousands of Muslims from across Haldwani city are presently out on tje streets, holding protests, sit-ins, and candlelight vigils, demanding that the demolition of their homes be stopped.
Related:
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