Rajasthan: Undeterred, a young Bhil tribal woman stood defiant inside her half-pucca house resisting a bulldozer as what the administration claims are “illegal encroachments.”
This happened in Rajasthan’s Barmer district. Female police officials tried to remove the young woman from her house, which does not have a single concrete wall. But she sat there, determined.
At last, she was dragged out, and her house was demolished.
A video has surfaced showing the struggle of several others like her, women and children, begging officials with folded hands not to demolish their house. But all their pleas fall on deaf ears.
The demolition drive is part of the state government’s ‘Operation Clean,’ aimed at removing alleged illegal structures within a 15 km radius of India’s border with Pakistan.
For the last week, several structures, including mosques and madrasas, have come under its radar.
According to this Indian Express report, Maulvi Hasam Khan said that the mosque was constructed nearly two years ago and the madrasa was functioning since 2009.
Under the Congress governance, former minority affairs minister Saleh Mohammad has sanctioned Rs 15 lakh for the construction of the madrasa building, said Khan. “The land was classified as residential (abadi) when the madrasa was established and fell under the jurisdiction of Jaisindhar Gram Panchayat. The masdrasa had a lease deed issued by the Gram Panchayat and that the Gadra Road Panchayat Samiti had also granted a lease for the madrasa,” he was quoted by the Indian Express.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot also condemned the current government’s actions. Taking to X, he said that for years, all communities have lived peacefully. “In such a region, it is inappropriate to selectively target mosques and madrasas for action at the behest of the central government solely to incite tension and polarisation,” he wrote.
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