Will the Bulldozer Policy in India Bring Radical Hindutva Supporters to Their Senses!

The Supreme Court of India has directed that bulldozers cannot be used in the name of justice or merely on suspicion. Bulldozers may be used to demolish illegal structures if necessary, but it must be done following the law. Following the rules. For this, a notice must be given. Time must be allowed for responding to the notice. An opportunity must be given to vacate the structure. The Supreme Court has expressed interest in issuing guidelines to implement rules and regulations throughout India. A very noble initiative. But the question arises, will this stop the application of the bulldozer policy introduced by radical Hindutva supporters?

The reason for this question is that even today, innocent people are losing their lives at the hands of self-proclaimed cow vigilantes due to mere suspicion. On the same day that the Supreme Court bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan expressed their intention to create guidelines regarding the bulldozer policy, it was reported that a 12th-grade student was killed by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes in Faridabad, Haryana, near Delhi, on mere suspicion of cow smuggling. After his death, it was discovered that the young man was not involved in cow smuggling at all. He had gone out to eat with two friends. All three were Hindus. The name of the deceased was Aryan Mishra.

Despite specific laws regarding cow protection and cow slaughter in various states, those who disregard these laws and take the law into their own hands, killing suspects at will – will they obey the Supreme Court’s directives regarding the use of bulldozers? Doubt is strong. Because this politics of fear is the trump card of radical Hindutva supporters.

The originator of the bulldozer policy is Yogi Adityanath, the BJP Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. After coming to power in the state in 2017, ending the rule of the Samajwadi Party (SP), he presented the bulldozer as a symbol of good governance. He filed cases against 15,000 ‘criminals’ under the state’s existing Gangster and Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act. He didn’t just stop at filing cases; he began a policy of pressure to catch the ‘criminals’. He started demolishing the residences of ‘tainted accused’ with bulldozers, most of which were illegally constructed. Although there was resentment against him for taking the law into his own hands in this way, he continued to receive unequivocal support from a section of people. This initiative became particularly popular among women. Because women did not feel safe on the streets due to the deterioration of law and order during the SP era. In July 2020, the house of Vikas Dubey, known as an anti-social element in Bikru village of Kanpur, was razed to the ground by bulldozers. The police were looking for him on charges of killing 8 police personnel in the state. It is said that to escape the wrath of the Chief Minister, he surrendered in Madhya Pradesh. But he died in a ‘car accident’ on the way to Delhi. It is alleged that he was killed in an encounter in the middle of the road.

Since then, notorious ‘dons’ like Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Mohammed have also died in encounters. The houses of these two ‘criminals’, who were in jail, were also demolished by bulldozers; as were the houses of many others. Gradually, the bulldozer became a ‘symbol of justice against injustice’. Before the 2022 assembly elections, the Chief Minister was nicknamed ‘Bulldozer Baba’. Bulldozers began to be displayed in BJP processions. It was observed that 90 percent of the owners or residents of the demolished properties were Muslims. The bulldozer became a ‘quick justice’ for crime eradication. It was propagated that criminals have become dormant due to fear of bulldozers. Yogi Adityanath has established Ram Rajya. The crime rate has decreased.

Within a week of winning the election for the second time and coming to power, bulldozers became active again on Yogi’s orders. The houses of individuals accused in a rape case were demolished to create pressure on the ‘criminals’.

A policy that is not supportable in the eyes of the law, however, becomes BJP’s weapon for winning elections. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself began to endorse that policy. In June this year, while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, Modi said in a public meeting, “If SP and Congress come to power, they will remove Ramlala from the temple in Ayodhya. They will demolish the Ram temple with bulldozers. Those two parties should learn from Yogiji where to use bulldozers and where not to.”

Although the people of Uttar Pradesh rejected BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan clung to the ‘bulldozer policy’ to win the election. Like Yogi, to show that he too is a strict administrator, he used bulldozers in April 2022. After communal riots in the Khargone area, he demolished 16 houses and 29 other structures using bulldozers. Shivraj Singh, known as the moderate who is famously called ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle) in the state, got a new name after that incident – ‘Bulldozer Mama’. BJP caused a flood in Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections. Although Shivraj had to leave the state for the center. Mohan Yadav became the Chief Minister. He started demolishing one ‘illegal’ meat shop after another in the capital Bhopal using bulldozers. There were allegations that some people had beaten up a BJP worker. Their houses were also demolished.

In this way, the ‘bulldozer culture’ gradually spread from state to state. ‘Bulldozer raj’ is going on unabated in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, and Rajasthan. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had to pay a total compensation of 30 lakh rupees to five families due to the bulldozer policy. Even Delhi, ruled by Aam Aadmi Party, did not escape from it. Since both the Lieutenant Governor and the police are controlled by the center, after the Jahangirpuri riots in 2022, bulldozer operations were carried out on the houses of the accused. The municipality’s allegation was that every construction was illegal. Notices had been given against them long ago to take action. The municipality had taken action following the law.

Mainly in the minority neighborhoods of BJP-ruled states, bulldozers come behind the police like ‘the roar before the tiger’. This has become the norm for the past few years. Be it suppressing anti-social elements or allegations of cow slaughter or beef consumption, whatever it may be. This policy of BJP-ruled states has cast its shadow on non-BJP ruled states as well. Rajasthan’s Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had also demolished a coaching center in Jaipur with a bulldozer before the last assembly elections on allegations of leaking question papers for teacher recruitment exams. Bulldozers were also used in some districts of West Bengal including Kolkata last June to evict illegally built shops and hawkers occupying roads. Later, the Chief Minister withdrew it and gave one month’s time. The Chief Minister had told the municipalities, “One month’s time is being given to fix everything. A specific place has to be made for the hawkers. Parking spaces also need to be made.” Addressing the municipalities, she had said, “First you will let hawkers sit, then you will demolish with bulldozers – these things will not be allowed.”

Since then, bulldozers have not been used in West Bengal. After the Supreme Court’s stance became known, will BJP-ruled states now pull the reins on bulldozers?