India demolishes 1,400 Muslim homes for solar project
BJP-led state government in northeast India bulldozes homes of Bengali-origin Muslims, displacing 10,000 for solar power project
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Authorities in India’s northeastern state of Assam have demolished the homes of more than 1,400 Bengali-origin Muslim families to make way for a government-backed solar power project, in what civil rights advocates describe as yet another wave of targeted anti-Muslim evictions under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime.
The evictions, which began this week in Dhubri district near the Bangladesh border, affected roughly 10,000 people who had lived on the land for over three decades.
The displaced communities, many of whom lost ancestral homes to river erosion by the Brahmaputra, were residing in villages including Chirakuta, Charuakhara Jungle Block, and Santeshpur under the Chapar revenue circle.
According to Scroll, the land—approximately 1,289 acres of designated village grazing reserve—was officially transferred to the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited for the construction of a solar power plant. Local officials claim advance eviction notices were issued and that public announcements had urged residents to vacate before bulldozers arrived on July 8.
However, residents and activists say the rehabilitation measures offered by the state are inadequate and dangerously flawed. The proposed resettlement site in Baizar Alga, a low-lying flood-prone area with no road access, has left many unwilling to relocate. “It gets flooded most of the time during monsoons,” said Nazrul Islam, a displaced resident.
Although the administration offered a one-time relief payment of 50,000 Indian rupees ($600), not all families have received it. Some residents began leaving out of fear before the demolitions, while others who remained saw their homes razed without recourse.
The demolitions sparked protest at the site, where a handful of residents threw stones at bulldozers, damaging equipment. Police responded with baton charges.
Akhil Gogoi, a local legislator and leader of the Raijor Dal party, was briefly detained after visiting the scene. He denounced the eviction as “illegal and unconstitutional,” noting that affected families had a case pending in the Gauhati High Court.
“This is targeted,” Gogoi said. “The BJP government is demolishing homes unlawfully to polarize voters and criminalize Muslim communities.”
His remarks came as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a fresh eviction drive in Goalpara district on July 10, stating, “We are with the indigenous people of Assam… Akhil Gogoi stands for a particular community. That’s our political ideology.”
Legal experts have raised serious concerns over the timing and manner of the demolitions, particularly as the Supreme Court of India ruled in November that state-led property demolitions must follow due process and cannot serve as collective punishment.
This marks the fourth large-scale eviction in Assam within a month, all involving Bengali-origin Muslims. On June 16, authorities cleared 690 families from Hasila Beel wetland in Goalpara. 93 families were evicted on June 30 in Nalbari, and 220 more on July 4 in Lakhimpur district.
Since the BJP came to power in Assam in 2016, more than 10,600 families—mostly Muslim—have been evicted from government land, according to state records.
Analysts warn that the pattern reveals a systematic use of climate vulnerability, land laws, and infrastructure projects to marginalize one of India’s most persecuted minority groups.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
