Haryana: Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked whether days of demolitions of homes and businesses of mainly Muslim residents were “an exercise of ethnic cleansing”. This comes after authorities in Nuh demolished houses of Muslims.
Ordering a halt to four days of bulldozing of properties, the court said, “The issue also arises whether the buildings belonging to a particular community are being brought down under the guise of law and order problem and an exercise of ethnic cleansing is being conducted by the state.”
The bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan also observed that the state authorities had conducted the demolition drive “without following the procedure established by law” or issuing any prior notices to the people owning the properties, legal news website LiveLaw reported.
Earlier on Monday, officials said that as many as 156 people were arrested and 56 FIRs registered so far in connection with the violence in Nuh.
With this, six people have been killed including the mosque Imam, Moulana Saad, and 89 are injured so far in the district, officials confirmed.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court’s observation stands as a unique instance of India’s judiciary posing a question that echoes concerns already raised by human rights organizations and experts worldwide.
In January of the preceding year, Gregory Stanton, the founder and director of Genocide Watch, a non-governmental organization established in 1999, conveyed to a United States congressional briefing that the potential for a genocide targeting Muslims existed in India.
Stanton issued a warning, indicating that the conditions were ripe for a possible genocide in India. He noted the emergence of early indicators and processes pointing towards such a tragedy, especially in the northeastern state of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
Close to a month before Stanton’s statement, a gathering of Hindu right-wing outfits gave open threats to Muslims in Haridwar. During this event, they openly advocated for the genocide of Muslims.
Video recordings from the Dharm Sansad (religious parliament) depicted numerous Hindu monks, some of whom had strong affiliations with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), openly expressing the belief that Hindus should take the lives of Muslims.
Over the years since the Hindu nationalist BJP came into power in 2014, several of the party’s leaders, including government ministers, have faced accusations of making public statements that instigate fear and threat towards the entire Muslim community.
