Muslim residents in the Haldwani region protested for days, braving the winter cold, after an Indian court ordered the demolition of more than 4,000 homes over false allegations on railway land.
Last month, the country’s supreme court issued a stay on the order, which could potentially affect 50,000 people, it has not yet ruled on the issue of land ownership.
The abrupt nature of demolition drives, leaving little room for legal investigations, is profoundly altering how Muslims perceive normal life in India, blurring the lines between public and private space.
The demolitions cause Muslims economic harm, while also damaging their political standing.
In India violence against Muslims has become extremely common with many politicians ignoring this inhumane torture.
In the Haldwani case, national media adopted a nefarious narrative framing the Muslim protesters as a “jihadi gang” – a conspiracy theory that has been deployed against other Muslims, using the false claim that they are illegally occupying Hindu lands.
In recent years, the policy of demolitions has become an inseparable part of the ruling BJP’s administrative discourse.
