Rights watchdog Amnesty International has joined calls to halt the ongoing bulldozer campaign to remove alleged encroachments in Jammu and Kashmir, terming it an extension of “brutal rights violations” in the region.
The call coincides with protests by dozens of People’s Democratic Party leaders and activists in Srinagar against the demolition drive. The government has recovered thousands of hectares of purported state land occupied by residents over generations.
“The ongoing demolitions appear to be an extension of the brutal human rights violations the region of Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim majority region of India, has historically witnessed. These demolitions could amount to forced evictions which constitute a gross violation of human rights,” Aakar Patel, Chair of Amnesty International India board, said in a statement.
The rights group was reacting to reports of “demolition of homes and businesses in Srinagar, Budgam, Anantnag and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir that are ongoing since February 4”.
“Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which India is a state party, everyone has the right to adequate housing which includes a prohibition on forced evictions,” the statement said.
“Where justified, evictions should be carried out in accordance with general principles of reasonableness and proportionality and include safeguards of reasonable and adequate notice; provision of legal remedies for infringement of rights; and provision of legal aid to people who need it to seek redress from the courts,” it added.
Patel said no one should be made homeless or vulnerable to other human rights violations because of evictions.
“The Indian authorities must immediately halt the demolition drive and ensure that safeguards against forced evictions as outlined in international human rights standards are put in place before any evictions are carried out,” the statement said.
“They must offer adequate compensation to all those affected without discrimination, ensure that victims of forced evictions have access to effective remedy, and those responsible are held to account.”
The statement, quoting media reports, said several residents alleged that they did not receive any prior notices from the administration and many of them had documents proving ownership of their properties.
“But the authorities did not give them an opportunity to present their claims before running bulldozers over their homes,” it said.
The drive has sparked panic among the residents and triggered protests. The authorities have made three more arrests in Jammu, including that of District Development Council member Mehraj Malik of the Aam Aadmi Party, in the protests that had rocked the city on Saturday, taking the total arrests to eight.
The protesters had attacked police with stones after bulldozers tried to demolish a commercial place in a Muslim-majority locality. Several politicians have voiced concern that Muslims were bearing the brunt of the drive.
PDP supporters on Tuesday staged protests in Srinagar where they raised slogans against the administration’s “bulldozer policy”.
They were carrying placards reading “Kashmir for Kashmiris”, “Stop ruling Jammu and Kashmir like a colony”, and “Landless, jobless, homeless — Stop bulldozing our homes”.
PDP spokesman Mohit Bhan said the BJP government was dispossessing locals of their land and homes. He said the demolition exercise was being carried out through the arbitrary use of bulldozers to “invent homelessness in Jammu and Kashmir”.
