The new penchant for bulldozers that the current regime has developed over the last few years is reflective of its ideology of sectarian domination and discrimination. What started in Uttar Pradesh in the run up to the 2022 assembly elections was adopted across the country after the surprise win and it being ascribed to the bulldozers. Bulldozers are symbolic of absolute power over a hapless people, where you can destroy not only a person but entire family, locality and community and send a message which means differently for different audiences. It became so widespread that the Supreme Court in last October had to pass guidelines against it. What started with individuals with a wrong identity and ideas not favorable of the government, has now expanded to the poor and the unwanted urban slums. Once the machines have gained political legitimacy so much so that they are chief displays in election rallies, their usage can now be diverted conveniently. Delhi has lately seen record demolitions of settlements, some even half a century old. After Bhumiheen colony it is batla house now. Even in Chhattisgarh we have news from Raigarh today and Nakti village made national headlines last week. These look like an attempt to appropriate valuable prime urban real estate, using the long arm of the state. For whom would this land be used is anybody’s guess. Its correct that unauthorized constructions are a menace and have made planned, healthy urban development impossible but the length of settlement and the future usage of reclaimed land along with resettlement of the people all need to be considered. The manner of encroachment and the nature of criminality involved are also important factors. Such display of brute state force is undemocratic and against norms of civilized society. The dignity of the poor and the weak should to be protected by the state and not from the state.
Undemocratic and uncivilized
