ISLAMABAD: The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) in India's Gujarat state is demolishing houses on a large scale in Jangleshwar, a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood, triggering allegations of “bulldozer justice” and "communal targeting."
Several Indian media outlets reported on Monday the "sweeping anti-encroachment operation" along Gujarat's Aji river, where families have lived for nearly six decades.
Gujarat is particularly sensitive to ethnic targeting and communal hatred because the brutal images of the 2002 massacre, in which more than 2,000 Muslims were killed, are still fresh in the minds of the populace.
The civic body says it is clearing “illegal encroachments” for a riverfront redevelopment and flood prevention, as part of an Aji Riverfront project, but critics and rights observers argue the crackdown reflects a wider pattern in Gujarat where demolition drives disproportionately impact Muslim-majority pockets.
They point to the fact that the most intense phase of the operation is centred on Jangleshwar, a Muslim enclave for over 40 years, and claim similar encroachments in non-minority areas are often regularised or ignored, while Muslim settlements face total clearance.
Local media outlet Maktoob reported that the large-scale demolition drive has resulted in destruction of hundreds of residential structures and has left numerous families homeless.
Indian media reported that the operation has been carried out under heavy security, with authorities deploying 2,500 to 3,000 police personnel, alongside a heavy presence of paramilitary forces, drone surveillance, and riot-control preparations, including water cannons and tear gas.
Rajkot police have also imposed restrictions, declaring the city a no-drone fly zone (Feb. 23-25) and prohibiting gatherings of four or more people until Feb. 26, measures locals describe as intimidating in a residential locality.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi intensified controversy by calling the area a “hub for criminal elements,” citing past arrests. Human rights organizations say such rhetoric “criminalizes” Muslim neighbourhoods and is used to justify extra-judicial punishment through demolitions.
Affected residents describe sudden displacement and uncertainty. Videos from the site show distraught women and children amid rubble. “We lived here 60 years, became homeless in a day,” one woman said, asking where she would take her children.
The demolition drive is continuing despite three separate petitions pending against it before the Gujarat High Court, according to ANI News.
While authorities claim hundreds of families have been offered alternative housing under government schemes, residents and observers say the on-ground reality is mass displacement without assured rehabilitation, deepening allegations that “urban planning” is being weaponized against a minority community.
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