‘My home was snatched away’: Delhi demolition uproots generations of families

Hundreds of families who lived for generations around a historic mosque in one of New Delhi’s wealthiest neighbourhoods have been displaced after authorities demolished their homes, leaving residents struggling with lost livelihoods, disrupted education and the breakdown of long-standing community ties.

According to a BBC report, authorities demolished homes across three settlements in Race Course on October 7, saying the structures had been built illegally on government land and posed security concerns because of their proximity to military installations.

Around 717 families were relocated to Savda Ghevra, a settlement nearly 31 miles from their former neighbourhood on the outskirts of the Indian capital.

The demolition has also left the future of a historic mosque uncertain. Although the mosque and a nearby Hindu temple were spared, their water and electricity supplies were cut off, while access to the mosque has been restricted.

Mohammad Wasim, a 50-year-old driver whose family lived in the area for generations, told the BBC that his father and daughter had both married in the neighbourhood.

“Our hearts and entire lives are tied to this place,” he said. “How can we let it go, when our childhood was spent playing here?”

The mosque stands amid piles of rubble, with its pale walls, pointed arches and green-and-white courtyard tiles still intact. However, worshippers are often turned away at the gates, with only a few occasionally allowed inside after pleading with guards.

The government claims ownership of the land on which the mosque stands, while mosque authorities maintain that it was registered as waqf property in 1977. Waqf refers to property dedicated under Islamic law for religious or charitable purposes.

The Delhi Waqf Board says the mosque is nearly 300 years old, although other estimates place its age at between 125 and 150 years. The board has asked authorities to restore its water and electricity supplies and raised concerns about its future.

Separately, a worshipper has petitioned the Delhi High Court over restrictions on prayers and fears that the mosque could be demolished.

On October 29, the government told the court it would take no action against the mosque for four weeks while considering the Waqf Board’s objections. However, it opposed restoring access for prayers, citing safety concerns during demolition work.

The court declined to intervene and scheduled another hearing for December 16.

Families struggle to rebuild lives

For many displaced residents, the relocation has meant losing the informal jobs and support networks that sustained them in central Delhi.

Rekha, a widow who worked washing dishes in nearby homes and volunteered at the local Hindu temple, said she had lost her source of income after the move. Her 19-year-old son is also struggling to find work.

Although she has been allotted an apartment on the third floor, climbing the stairs is painful because of a metal rod in her leg following an operation.

“I may have a house but my home was snatched away,” she said.

Urban researcher Mukta Naik told the BBC that relocating working-class communities to distant areas disconnects them from employment opportunities and social networks, resulting in income losses and greater economic insecurity.

Such displacement has been a recurring feature of urban development in Delhi, where low-income communities have repeatedly been moved to the city's outskirts because they lack documents proving legal ownership of land they have occupied for decades.

“Relocation disconnects them from both jobs and networks, resulting in livelihood and income loss,” Naik said.

As families scatter in search of work, the informal support systems they previously relied on become harder to rebuild, leaving many to cope with financial and personal difficulties on their own.

Long commutes disrupt children's education

Savda Ghevra was established in 2006 on farmland near Delhi's border with Haryana to accommodate families displaced from other parts of the city.

Early residents arrived to find few basic facilities, including roads, running water and electricity. Over time, they built homes and businesses and campaigned for essential services. By the early 2020s, an estimated 50,000 people lived in the settlement.

The newly relocated families from Race Course now face the challenge of rebuilding their lives in a neighbourhood of concrete apartment blocks far from their former homes and workplaces.

Babloo, a displaced resident who previously worked at a club in Race Course, leaves home at 5am every day to take his children to their former school in central Delhi. The journey requires three train changes, and he waits at a tea stall near the school until classes end.

The family usually returns to Savda Ghevra around 4pm, leaving little time for other daily activities.

Babloo has since found work in Meerut, a town northeast of Delhi. He said residents knew they might eventually have to leave but had hoped the authorities would relocate them somewhere close enough to preserve their employment and children's education.

The government has argued that suitable apartments were unavailable closer to Race Course. It also cited schools, dispensaries and transport links in Savda Ghevra as evidence that the area could accommodate the displaced families.

However, Naeem Khan, 63, said the available facilities did not meet his family's needs. His two grandsons have hearing and speech disabilities and require specialised education and care that he says are unavailable in the area.

The relocation has also split his family because of limited living space. One son and a divorced daughter share his small, one-room apartment, while his two other sons have had to live elsewhere.

“We have been thrown 20 years backward,” he said.

Naik said women face particular difficulties following relocation because of childcare responsibilities, transport costs and safety concerns associated with long commutes.

Elderly residents lose vital support

For elderly and economically vulnerable residents, the demolition has eliminated even small sources of income and everyday assistance.

Akhtari, an elderly widow, previously collected discarded mineral-water bottles for around 100 Indian rupees a day and dried leftover flatbreads to sell as cattle feed.

Those modest earnings have disappeared since her relocation to Savda Ghevra, where she says most residents are struggling financially themselves.

“Everyone living here was evicted; everyone is poor, broken, and struggling themselves,” she told the BBC. “Who will hire someone else for housework?”

In her former neighbourhood, the mosque's imam or a neighbour would sometimes give her money to buy flour when she had nothing. Neighbours also checked on her, providing a vital safety net.

In her new apartment, she has shelter but fears she will have no one to help if she falls ill.

“If I collapse and die inside, no one will even know,” she said. “Hopefully someone will break down the door and find me.”

The Delhi government's housing agency, the local municipal council and the central government's land office did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment.

As the displaced families attempt to rebuild their lives, the mosque remains a symbol of what they have lost: a place of worship, a shared history and the community networks that helped them survive in one of India's most affluent neighbourhoods.