BJP-led Assam government demolishes homes of 132 Bengali Muslim families

Authorities in India's Assam state have demolished the homes of 132 Bengali Muslim families who had been living on government land since being displaced during the 1983 riots, with residents alleging that the eviction selectively targeted Muslims, Scroll reported.

The demolition took place on Friday in Boginadi in Lakhimpur district, where the families had settled after fleeing violence in 1983. They alleged that while their homes were razed, those of neighbouring Hindu families on the same government land were left untouched.

Azizur Rahman, a leader of the regional political party Raijor Dal, said the demolished homes stood on nearly 9.9 acres of professional grazing land under the Kadam revenue circle.

He said the Assam government had settled the Bengali Muslim families on the land after they were displaced in 1983. Over the years, residents had built roads and schools in the area and received electricity connections, leading them to believe their settlement was recognised by the authorities.

Rahman alleged that the eviction was discriminatory, claiming that Hindu families living on the remaining 595 acres of the grazing land were not affected.

He described the action as a violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.

Mohammad Tushan Ali, 50, said two houses belonging to his family were demolished despite neighbouring Hindu households remaining intact.

Ali said his family had been living on the land since 1985 after being displaced from Barpeta district.

“Muslim houses were targeted,” he said, adding that his family had been left beside the river and was being chased away by police.

The Lakhimpur district administration had not responded to questions about the demolitions at the time of publication.

Assam's eviction drive

The latest demolition comes amid a wider eviction campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Assam government, which has displaced more than 1,900 Muslim families over the past month, according to Scroll.

On November 1, authorities in Dhubri district demolished the homes of more than 640 Bengali Muslim families in Alamganj Part-IX village. The operation covered around 650 bighas of government-owned land.

Earlier, on October 18, more than 1,100 Muslim families were evicted across Nagaon, Hojai and Golaghat districts in a two-day operation.

Over the past decade of BJP rule in Assam, around 19,000 families, most of them Muslims, have been evicted from government land, according to figures from the state revenue and disaster management department and district authorities compiled by Scroll.

Background

The families' displacement dates back to the Assam Movement, which began in 1979 and continued until 1985. Led by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, the movement demanded the identification and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims were frequently targeted by the movement's supporters, who accused them of being immigrants from Bangladesh.

Tensions escalated in February 1983 after the Indian government announced assembly elections in Assam despite opposition from movement leaders. The period witnessed widespread violence, leaving thousands displaced across the Brahmaputra Valley.