On Monday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court used an important phrase while halting a demolition drive carried out by authorities in Nuh and Gurugram, which had seen communal violence the previous week.
“The issue also arises whether buildings belonging to a particular community are being brought down under the guise of a law and order problem,” said the bench, “and an exercise in ethnic cleansing is being conducted by the state.”
This phrase – “ethnic cleansing” – found its way to several editorials in leading English newspapers.
The Hindu’s editorial today said the Haryana government cannot use riots as a “pretext to demolish Muslim homes”. “Few would disagree with the court’s characterisation of the action in Haryana. The same dubious and ambivalent messaging about the demolitions that one saw in other states is being witnessed in Haryana too.”
It also described demolitions as “inherently illegal” in the absence of process – it’s unclear what evidence is used to identify buildings, and residents reportedly are not allowed to remove their belongings before the building is brought down.
“Using communal violence as a pretext to impose extra-legal punitive measures will invariably lead to bias, as officials implementing such orders will have no choice except to portray the occupants of the buildings to be razed as encroachers to retain the fig-leaf of legal justification and as anti-social elements for moral justification.”
The editorial in The Tribune today – simply headlined “Nuh demolitions” – said “bulldozer justice” has become the norm in some states, particularly Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, both governed by the BJP.
“Such disregard for the due process of law and vindictive use of the state machinery are undermining the justice delivery system. Action against encroachers should always be in accordance with the established procedure; it must not be influenced by political or communal considerations,” the editorial said.
Hindustan Times had an editorial yesterday saying that the fact that the high court used the phrase “ethnic cleansing” means it “needs to be heeded with sincerity and seriousness”.
“Embarrassed by its failure in safeguarding the lives and property of ordinary people in Nuh, due to intelligence gaps and administrative laxity, the Haryana government may be trying to project a stern, muscular image, but such actions cannot be condoned in a constitutional democracy,” the editorial said.
Telegraph had a tangential editorial this morning, citing the Haryana demolitions in the context of hate speech and police inaction. It said the Haryana government had “acknowledged that social media and videos contributed greatly to the violence, but acknowledgment after the fact cannot be called a mark of virtue”.
“Where were the police? The administration unleashed bulldozers, allegedly targeting the minority community; the demolition has now been stopped by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A prejudiced administration and the free expression of sectarian hatred are markers of the upending of law. The law is for the people.”
Newslaundry reported from the ground on the violence in Haryana, where over 200 Muslim families fled Gurugram amid threats. One woman said, “They are threatening to kill us and set our home on fire if we don’t leave.” But what stoked the communal fire in Haryana? Watch this video for more.
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