Aim of bulldozer politics is to demonise Muslims: Brinda Karat

Bulldozers appear to have replaced the concept of justice and have become its symbol. In the name of anti-encroachment drives, the country is witnessing the giant machines rolling into certain localities. Senior CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat was in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri to stand in solidarity with locals when BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation brought bulldozers to raze what they called encroachments. Karat spoke to DH’s Shemin Joy on the BJP’s politics behind the bulldozer drive.

There is a sudden spurt in these bulldozer drives in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and now Delhi. Why are we seeing it now?

Bulldozer politics is not about the use of a machine, but representative of a political ideology and strategy of Hindutva. Currently it gets activated in regions where elections are forthcoming. Its purpose is to divide people on religious lines, to demonize a community – in most cases the Muslim minority and to win power on the basis of a so-called Hindu identity. It happened in UP before the elections, Gujarat elections are later this year and MP scheduled next year and in Delhi the corporation elections are also within the year. But depending on its impact it could well become an intrinsic and frequently used strategy.

Why is this more than an anti-encroachment drive? Is it directed at one community? Aren't these drives a regressive step to lawlessness?

Anti-encroachment drives in India are not new. What is new is that the current drives are outside the pale of the law. The legal framework in India is clear. Anyone accused of encroachment is given a notice and an opportunity to defend his or her case against the accusation of encroachment. But in this bulldozing drive the demolition of houses is a punishment for being a “ rioter.” The modus operandi of the Sangh Parivar is to create an event of communal tension and clashes, to use the government and police to declare names of rioters in a one-sided way and then to declare their properties are illegal and punish them by razing properties into rubble. While there have been cases of some properties of Hindus being demolished, the main target are the members of the minority community. Whether Hindu or Muslim, it is totally illegal.

We have heard about Sippenhaft, a pre-Christian legal principle where an entire family or clan of an offender is punished. Isn't these drives sort of collective punishment?

But who is the guilty? Surely in any crime guilt has to be established through a legal process and the punishment is decided by law for those found guilty after due process. Here it is the extra legal force of the Sangh Parivar which is accuser, juror, judge, punishment giver all rolled into one.

Are you worried about the way the drive was carried out in Jahangirpuri?

Yes I am extremely concerned. In the court the government counsel tried to justify it. The entire process is illegal and also selective on communal grounds. In addition, the municipal authorities of the BJP as well as the Delhi Police under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs are guilty of contempt of court. They continued the process of demolition one and a half hours after the Supreme Court order of maintaining the status quo. It is outright contempt of the Supreme Court.

Isn't the timing of the anti-encroachment drive – coming within days of violence in the locality – worrisome? What does it mean?

It has nothing to do with dealing with encroachment and everything to do with pushing the sectarian agenda of communal polarisation and penalisation by the Sangh Parivar.

You have approached the Supreme Court. Why?

The Apex Court has the responsibility to uphold the rule of law and constitutional guarantees to citizens of this country. The actions in Jahangirpuri are bulldozing these rights and indeed the constitution of India. That is why I approached the Court.

Why is it that hijab, halal, azaan etc are suddenly being discussed? What is the agenda behind it?

The face of New India under the BJP— but not just this. Equally the New India is where the caste system thrives, where dalits are made to lick the feet of the caste elites as happened in UP, where adivasis are driven out of their traditional habitats and Adivasi cultures are sought to be replaced with Hindutva, where women are imprisoned in stereotyped roles of tradition and their autonomy is considered a crime—all concealed under the cloak of fake nationalism— the new India of modern Manuvad! We oppose it tooth and nail— today, every day, till there is a new tomorrow. The attack on minorities is an attack on India. Each of us stands up against the bulldozer.

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