Demolition drive against Jammu tribal families triggers widespread anger in IIOJK
Jammu : A massive demolition drive launched by the authorities against poor tribal and nomadic families in the Sidhra area of Jammu in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has triggered widespread outrage, with political leaders, residents and rights activists terming the action brutal, discriminatory and a fresh assault on the rights of marginalized Kashmiris.
According to Kashmir Media Service, heavy contingents of Indian police, forest officials and armed forces personnel carried out the operation in the Raika Bandi forest belt near Mahamaya, demolishing 20 to 30 residential structures, including mud houses and concrete shelters, during a four-hour-long drive.
Residents said the operation was conducted in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, while families, including women and children, watched helplessly as their homes were razed.
The authorities claimed the action was part of an anti-encroachment campaign and announced plans to intensify surveillance and mapping of tribal settlements through videography, photography and data collection across Jammu.
Locals, however, described the move as part of a wider campaign aimed at displacing poor Gujjar and Bakarwal families from their ancestral grazing lands and traditional habitats.
IIOJK Minister Javed Ahmed Rana termed the demolition drive “illegal and unjust”, ordered an inquiry and sought action against officials involved in the operation. He also accused police personnel of using force against residents and asked Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to register an FIR against officers involved in stopping people from offering prayers during the demolition exercise.
Rana said the affected land belonged to local residents and not the forest department, adding that revenue records confirmed the claims of the families living there for decades. He said the tribal families would be compensated and rehabilitated.
The demolition drive sparked sharp condemnation from political leaders across the occupied territory. National Conference MP Mian Altaf Ahmed called the action “high-handedness” and said the tribal community was already living under fear and insecurity due to repeated eviction campaigns. CPI-M leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami termed the operation “unjustified and insensitive”, while Apni Party chief Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said the demolitions had reinforced perceptions that a particular community was being selectively targeted.
Peoples Conference leader Sajjad Ghani Lone questioned who had authorized the demolitions, while several residents alleged that the authorities demolished entire residential clusters without proper notice under the pretext of anti-encroachment and anti-drug campaigns.
