GUJARAT: DEMOLITION DRIVE SPARKS OUTCRY

Fri 23 May 2025:

Communities – predominantly Muslim – displaced.

A large-scale demolition drive undertaken by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, has targeted approximately 7,000 properties, predominantly Muslim homes, situated near Chandola Talab. The operation, reported to have commenced on Tuesday, has resulted in the displacement of thousands of individuals, leaving them without shelter.

This recent civic action followed a Gujarat High Court decision on 29 April 2025. The court upheld an earlier demolition drive by state authorities in the Chandola lake area, noting that the constructions were on government land and therefore deemed illegal. Prior to this ruling, on 28 April 2025, over 4,000 shanties in the Siyasatnagar and Bengali Vaas areas were razed, displacing thousands, predominantly Muslims.

Authorities have connected the current operations to “national security” concerns arising after an attack in Pahalgam, with allegations that the area was occupied by undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants. Following the Pahalgam incident on 26 April, over 6,500 individuals, mostly Muslims, were detained for citizenship verification. Subsequently, around 850 were released upon confirmation of their Indian citizenship.

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Residents and Organisations Voice Concerns

Many of the affected families, who include daily-wage labourers, ragpickers, and migrants from various Indian states such as Bengal and Rajasthan, assert their Indian citizenship. They state they possess valid documentation and have resided in the area for many years, even decades.

Mujahid Nafees, Convener of the Gujarat-based Minority Coordination Committee, described the razing of “houses of poor people living on the banks of Chandola Lake” as “completely inhumane behaviour.” He noted, “People have been living here for more than 40 years.”

Nafees further commented on the authorities’ actions: “After the attack on tourists in Pahalgam, more than 1000 people from this area were arrested as Bangladeshis. After 2-3 days, around 850 people were released because they were Indians. To hide its failure, the administration first demolished around 2000 houses, and now the process of demolishing 6500 houses is going on. This action of the government is completely to harass the Muslims by making them homeless.” He also issued a demand: “We demand from the government that all the residents should be provided with alternative housing immediately.”

Wasif Hussain, General Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Gujarat, highlighted the residents’ legal status and the difficult conditions they face: “The residents of Chandola Lake are being called ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators, ‘ and their homes are being demolished. All of them are Indian citizens who have been living here for years and possess voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards, ration cards, and other documents.”

He added, “During this demolition, families who have been residing here for many years are being forced to vacate their homes immediately without any alternative arrangements. This bulldozer-driven government has become so inhuman that it is not even considering where these families, who have been living here for years, will go in such extreme heat — among them are elderly women and children.”

The Gujarat-based Minority Welfare Committee also condemned the demolition as “inhumane” and called for immediate rehabilitation efforts for those displaced. Several other Muslim organisations have criticised the government’s approach, describing it as brutal and indifferent to the plight of those left without shelter in extreme heat. They reiterated that the affected residents are Indian citizens with valid identification.

The issue of property demolitions impacting Muslim communities in India has drawn scrutiny previously. In 2024, a number of human rights groups called for a halt to the destruction of Muslim-owned property in India, with Amnesty International characterising such actions as punitive. The latest demolition events in Gujarat add to these ongoing concerns.