Clashes erupt as authorities demolish Muslim shrine in India
Demolition of centuries-old dargah in Somnath sparks violent crackdown as Hindu nationalist policies reshape religious landscape
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — At least 13 people have been arrested after violent clashes broke out in India’s western Gujarat state during the demolition of a Muslim shrine, marking another flashpoint in the country’s escalating campaign against Islamic heritage sites.
The unrest unfolded on Monday in Veraval’s Prabhas Patan area, near the coastal district of Somnath — a region revered in Hindu mythology and increasingly at the centre of religious polarization. Witnesses said tensions erupted when local residents, including women and children, tried to prevent officials from tearing down a centuries-old dargah (Sufi shrine).
Police responded with batons and teargas after protesters allegedly hurled stones at security forces. According to The Indian Express, the demolition drive resumed after officers dispersed the crowd. By Tuesday morning, authorities had cleared debris from 11 razed structures, including homes and the contested shrine.
Officials claimed the operation targeted “illegal encroachments” on state-owned land. A police report filed by a local revenue officer accused the protesters of rioting and obstructing government work.
Seventeen people were charged under India’s new penal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Gujarat Police Act, with officials saying more arrests are likely.
However, civil rights advocates describe the demolition as part of a broader pattern of state-sponsored erasure of Muslim sites across India. They note that Gujarat’s Somnath district has seen repeated demolitions despite court interventions.
In September 2024, authorities bulldozed nine Islamic structures — including the 1,200-year-old Haji Mangrol Dargah, Shah Silar Dargah, Garib Shah Dargah, Jafar Muzaffar Dargah, a mosque, and a historic graveyard — in the same neighbourhood.
Analysts say these actions reflect a growing use of “bulldozer justice”— a term widely used by rights groups to describe India’s punitive demolitions under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. The practice has drawn international criticism for targeting Muslim communities without due legal process.
The Somnath violence underscores how urban renewal and “encroachment removal” drives are increasingly weaponized to reshape the religious and cultural geography of Indian cities. For many in Prabhas Patan, the destruction of the dargah was not merely administrative — it was another reminder of India’s shrinking space for pluralism.
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