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It is a perverse sense of justice that follows up a communal riot with collective punishment for one community. The Punjab and Haryana High Court’s description of the demolition drive in Nuh and Gurugram after the recent riots there as ethnic cleansing is no misnomer, because it amounted to a one-sided targeting of the Muslim community.
The court did well to stop the demolitions by the Haryana police, but the latter had already demolished some 750 houses by then. The police did not take the action on their own but acted on political prodding. The court made this clear when it pulled up the state government and said the actions raise the question whether the bulldozed buildings were targeted under the guise of a law-and-order problem. The court observed that no order was issued for demolitions and no notices were served, and it has told the government to furnish an affidavit on the lawless actions.
Demolition of houses is now the standard method of punishment in BJP-ruled states, and it is overwhelmingly directed against members of the minority community. It is also praised as instant justice delivery by the party’s leaders. Houses are indiscriminately chosen for demolition. They need not even belong to an accused person. Houses of parents, relatives or others who may be associated with the accused are brought down without questions.
In Nuh, a house where a family took refuge during the riots was demolished. Encroachments and illegal constructions are cited as reasons. It is surprising that these are discovered only when the demolition has been decided on. The idea actually is to strike at the Muslim community, using the riots or other offences as excuses.
There are very wrong notions and prejudices working behind the bulldozer culture of the BJP. They have gained traction in recent times. One is that an accused is an offender. It is not true, and an accused can be punished only if the guilt is established in a court of law. Another is that there is need for instant justice because the established system of justice is slow. But problems in the justice system do not justify short-circuiting due process. Demolition of houses is not a legally prescribed punishment, and it cannot be administered even on a convicted offender under the law. The third and most important driver of the bulldozer culture is the deep prejudice and hatred of Muslims and the itch to go after them for any reason, no reason or wrong reasons. The police action with bulldozers is not different from the mob action during riots. It is outside the law and all norms of governance, as the court noted.