Forced evictions displace over 5 lakh in India in 2023, Muslims hardest hit: Report
New Delhi: Shedding light on forced evictions being done under the watch of Modi government, a comprehensive report has said that 2023 witnessed an alarming spike in such evictions across India, displacing over half a million individuals and mostly impacting marginalized communities particularly Muslims.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the landmark report titled “Forced Evictions in India: 2022 & 2023” was released by New Delhi-based Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN). This report, the sixth in a series of annual publications by HLRN on evictions, highlights a significant surge in the number of home demolitions in India between 2022 and 2023, particularly impacting the poor and marginalised populations. Over this period, more than 1.5 lakh houses were demolished by state authorities, resulting in the forceful eviction of over 7.4 lakh people from their homes.
According to HLRN’s comprehensive report, an unprecedented 1,07,449 homes were demolished in 2023, leading to the forced eviction of at least 5,15,752 people, marking the highest recorded annual figure in the last seven years. This surge in evictions, the highest since HLRN began its documentation in 2017, spans across 23 states and four Union Territories in India. Major cities and smaller urban centers alike have witnessed large-scale demolitions. Delhi witnessed the most incidents of evictions, with approximately 2.8 lakh people evicted in 2023. Court orders played a significant role, resulting in the eviction of over 2.9 lakh persons in both years.
The report highlights the acute vulnerability of marginalized groups, with Muslims, in particular, being the most affected in almost half of the documented eviction instances. Rehabilitation was lacking in most cases, and state authorities often failed to comply with due process requirements, leading to multiple human rights violations. As a result, approximately 17 million people across India continue to live under the threat of eviction and displacement for various reasons.
In its recommendations, the report emphasises the urgent need for action and calls for an immediate moratorium on all evictions. It emphasises the importance of following due process and obtaining consent from affected persons before carrying out any eviction-related activities. Furthermore, the report advocates for providing rehabilitation and alternative accommodation to all displaced families, as well as recognising informal settlements as legitimate housing clusters to prevent stigmatisation and further evictions.
