India’s ‘bulldozer justice’ flattens Muslim dissent

Allahabad, India – (AFP)

After two nights in police custody, Indian teenager Somaiya Fatima was released in time to watch live footage of an excavator claw smashing into the walls of her childhood home.

The residence is among scores of dwellings and businesses flattened by wrecking crews this year, in a campaign authorities have promoted by turns as a battle against illegal construction and a firm response to criminal activity.

But rights groups have condemned “bulldozer justice” as an unlawful exercise in collective punishment by India’s Hindu nationalist government, and many of the campaign’s victims have one thing in common.

“We are Muslims and that’s why we are being targeted,” Fatima told AFP.

The 19-year-old was arrested along with her family after her father was accused of masterminding a large public protest in the northern city of Allahabad last month.

It was one of several rallies across India last month condemning a ruling party spokeswoman whose provocative comments about the Prophet Mohammed during a televised debate sparked anger across the Muslim world.

Many Muslims living in Uttar Pradesh now fear their own homes are being earmarked for destruction after their family members participated in last month’s protests.

One week after Fatima’s arrest, a bulldozer remained parked outside the police station near where her home once stood. The pile of bricks and concrete in its stead has heightened her own sense of belonging to a pariah community.