India: Mass Demolitions in Ahmedabad’s Danilimda Leave Thousands Homeless, Spark Fears of Religious Bias
In a draconian enforcement action by local authorities, thousands of Muslim families in Ahmedabad’s historic Danilimda area have been rendered homeless following a large-scale demolition drive.
According to an article published on Clarion India, the operation, carried out by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in collaboration with state police forces and Reserve units, saw the razing of over 8,500 unauthorized structures in a heavily militarized exercise involving police personnel, drones, bulldozers, and earth-machine operations.
Officials assert that the demolition drive was targeted exclusively at illegal encroachments—structures erected without proper permits or clearances—and formed part of a broader campaign to reclaim over 2.50 lakh square meters of land around the area, which notably includes the ecologically and historically significant Chandola Lake. This phase of the clearance, organized into multiple blocks and executed with the deployment of 35 bulldozers and 15 earthmover machines, follows an earlier eviction that displaced roughly 2,000 homes in another part of the city. In addition, BJP authorities had demolished over 7,000 homes, most belonging to Muslims, in the Danilimda area of Gujarat in late May.
However, residents of Danilimda claim that many of these demolished homes belonged to families who have lived in the neighborhood for decades, holding official identification documents and longstanding legal records.
Critics of the demolition argue that the drive disproportionately targets the Muslim community; reports indicate that nearby properties owned by Hindu residents were spared, deepening allegations of selective enforcement and religious discrimination.
In another shocking incident on Monday along the same pattern of aggression towards Muslim-related properties, a Muslim graveyard in Alam Sarai village, located in the Mandi Kishan Das area of the Sambhal tehsil in Uttar Pradesh, was completely flattened by bulldozers as part of an official drive to remove alleged “encroachments”. The action, carried out by the district administration, has sparked questions and concern from residents.
Local human rights activists and community leaders have vehemently decried the operation as collective punishment and a stark deviation from constitutional secular values. They assert that labeling long-time residents as “illegal encroachers” or even “illegal immigrants” without presenting concrete evidence not only violates legal norms but also undermines the rights of citizens. The lack of any coordinated rehabilitation or relief measures has left many displaced families struggling without food, water, or medical support—conditions that are set to worsen with the impending monsoon season.
