Demolition of Muslim properties leads to deadly violence in India

The demolition of a mosque and a Muslim seminary has led to deadly clashes and an internet shutdown in northern India. The flare-up, in the hill state of Uttarakhand, is the latest bout of sectarian tensions as Muslim sites have become a wider target of the Hindu right wing following the opening of a major temple last month.

The toll of the violence was unclear. An official in Haldwani, the town where the clash took place, said in an interview that two people were killed and dozens injured, including police officers. Reports in the Indian news media, quoting top police officials, said four people had been killed, but this could not be confirmed as police did not respond to requests for comment. Images from the area showed vehicles destroyed by fire and debris littering the streets.

Thursday's unrest began when officials and police arrived to demolish the structures, which authorities said were built illegally on public land, and were met with an angry crowd. Witnesses said police fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who threw rocks at a police station and set vehicles on fire. The police deny that live ammunition was used.

The violence unfolded against the backdrop of the rise of Hinduism as a national identity in India, a multi-ethnic state founded as a secular republic but which has grown increasingly distant from that over the past decade under the leadership of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. vision has been removed.

In his ten years as Prime Minister, Mr. Modi has delivered on many of his campaign promises, including building a massive campaign Hindu temple where a mosque once stood, and rids the Kashmir region of it semi-autonomous status.

Thursday's demolition was part of a larger government effort that opposition leaders say targeted Muslims. In 2022, a court in Uttarakhand ordered the destruction of about 4,000 homes of mainly Muslim residents in Haldwani, located on land that the court said was next to a railway line.

In January 2023, after weeks of protests in which residents facing eviction notices camped out on the streets, Judges of India's highest court ordered this a stay at the scrapyard.

In the months that followed, tensions increased. Posters popped up in another city calling on Muslims to close their businesses after two people, reportedly a Hindu and a Muslim kidnapped a Hindu girl. Muslim-owned shops in another city were marked with black crosses, and members of far-right groups urged Muslims to leave Uttarakhand. The state, home to many Hindu shrines, has increasingly become an important stop on the Hindu pilgrimage route, but its population is about 14 percent Muslim.

This week, a court ruling cleared the way for the destruction of the mosque and seminary. Residents and a local elected representative said the government rushed to demolish them without consulting local residents.

On Friday, authorities imposed a curfew, closed schools and colleges and deployed hundreds of riot control troops.

The destruction is not limited to Uttarakhand. In a recent reportAmnesty International described what it called “unjust” attacks on Muslim homes, businesses and places of worship between April and June 2022 in five states where local governments are led by Mr Modi's ruling party.

The report urged authorities to stop demolitions of Muslim properties, which it said were carried out as “punishment” after periods of religious violence or protests by Muslims against discriminatory policies.