The authorities in five BJP-governed states repeatedly used JCB equipment for “unlawful, punitive demolition” of Muslim properties in at least 33 instances, as per an Amnesty International investigation of 63 of 128 documented demolitions in Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Two reports by the rights group – titled ‘If you speak up, your house will be demolished: Bulldozer injustice in India’ and ‘Unearthing Accountability: JCB’s role and responsibility in bulldozer injustice in India’ – suggested there is widespread unlawful demolitions of Muslims’ homes, businesses and places of worship through JCB bulldozers and other machines that “must stop immediately”.

The rights group conducted hundreds of interviews with those whose properties were demolished, legal experts, journalists and community leaders, besides site visits and open-source investigations. Amnesty also tried to verify the authenticity of 78 videos and photographs of demolitions – 69 sourced from social media, and nine from the victims. It also geolocated many of these through information from satellite and street-level imagery on platforms such as Google Earth and Mapillary. 

Amnesty noted that Muslim-concentrated localities were “chosen for demolitions”, and Muslim-owned properties were “selectively targeted” in diverse areas, while nearby Hindu-owned properties, “particularly in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, were left untouched”.

The human rights group’s reports said that “bulldozer justice” – as dubbed by several politicians and media outlets to describe it as “(good) models of governance” – has rendered at least 617 people homeless or deprived of their livelihoods. These men, women, children and senior citizens were “subjected to forced evictions, intimidation and unlawful force by the police” and collective and “arbitrary punishment,” said the report.

In as many as 39 documented cases, the police resorted to “unlawful force” to carry out demolitions or prevent victims from collecting their belongings, it said. At least 14 victims who spoke to Amnesty said they were assaulted by the police. “The police hurled abuses at residents, kicked open doors, and dragged people out of their homes before beating them with batons,” one of the reports described the demolition of a 60-year-old woman’s house in Madhya Pradesh’s Sendhwa.   

Besides questioning the governments, and calling for a halt to its “de facto policy” that enables hate campaigns against the minority community, Amnesty noted that JCB was the most widely deployed equipment in these demolitions. The group said it is the UK-based company’s responsibility to prevent adverse human rights impacts linked to its products. 

The reports also pointed out that Indian media had failed to consider the legalities of the demolitions, and that it discriminated against the Muslim community. 

The human rights group said such demolitions were a “form of extra-judicial punishment” and prohibited under international law. It also urged that those responsible for these violations must be held accountable, and the victims must be offered “adequate compensation”. 

BJP’s role in ‘targeted’ demolitions

In the five BJP-governed states, as per Amnesty’s probe, most of the demolitions were carried out “under the guise of remedying illegal construction and encroachment”, and were “often instigated at the highest levels of government”. 

It added that many state officials directly or indirectly called for the use of bulldozers against Muslims, with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister even labelled as “Bulldozer Baba”. “Punitive demolitions have been aggressively pursued as a form of extrajudicial punishment over many years and in several states, including Uttar Pradesh whose chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, has been labelled by the media as ‘Bulldozer Baba’ (grandfather),” said a report.

Between April and June 2022, Amnesty International researchers noted that authorities in BJP-governed Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, and the Aam Aadmi Party-governed Delhi carried out demolitions as a “punishment” after communal clashes or protests. 

A statement by  Amnesty International’s secretary general Agnès Callamard called the bulldozer action “cruel and appalling”,  “deeply unjust, unlawful and discriminatory”, and “destroying families.” 

Callamard said authorities have “repeatedly undermined the rule of law” by destroying homes, businesses or places of worship, through “targeted campaigns of hate, harassment, violence and the weaponisation of JCB bulldozers”. 

The investigation pointed out that no “due process safeguards” in domestic and international law were followed during the demolitions. It said state authorities did not engage in any prior consultation, give adequate notice, or alternative resettlement, while at times the demolitions were even carried out at night.

The latest bulldozer action was recorded in Maharashtra’s Mumbai last month as over 40 structures were mowed down on Muhammad Ali Road following communal clashes in the area, after the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya on January 22.

What does international law say?

Amnesty International said in its reports that these demolitions constitute forced evictions and are prohibited under international human rights law and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

“Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab and Digital Verification Corps have verified that JCB’s machines, while not the only vehicles used, were the most widely deployed equipment in these demolitions. Their repeated use have given rise to the use of monikers for the company like ‘Jihadi Control Board’ by celebratory right-wing media and politicians,” said the human rights group.

In reply to Amnesty’s letter, a JCB spokesperson said that once products are sold off, the company has no control over or responsibility for its use. 

However, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights states otherwise. The guiding principles state that it is JCB’s responsibility to “conduct due diligence” to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts directly linked to its operations, products or services. 

Amnesty said this requirement was particularly crucial in regions with “heightened risk or evidence” of the products’ use linked to human rights abuses, “such as in Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh”.

Callamard also emphasised that under “international standards”, JCB is responsible for addressing “what third-party buyers do with its equipment”.

She said, “The company must stop looking away as JCB machines are used to target and punish the Muslim community, while people sloganeer anti-Muslim vitriol mounted from atop these bulldozers. JCB cannot continue to evade responsibility while its machines are repeatedly used to inflict human rights abuses.” 

The rights group’s chief also demanded that JCB “publicly condemn” the use of its machinery to commit human rights violations, and called for immediate protection of the rights of Muslims and the marginalised. 

This report was published with AI assistance. 

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