By Arbab Ali - Rat-miner Wakeel Hasan was a national hero in November, after helping rescue 41 men trapped in a Himalayan tunnel. Now, he’s on the streets, after authorities bulldozed his house.
New Delhi, India – Wakeel Hasan had to climb his neighbour’s 1.8-metre (six-foot) wall to enter the rubble-filled plot of land where his house stood only a day earlier.
The police had barricaded the front of the land where his home, a single-floored, two-bedroom house that his family had called home for over a decade, was demolished on Wednesday by the authorities in Khajuri Khas, a densely populated neighbourhood in India’s capital, New Delhi.
A day later, he stood on the rubble of his house, tears rolling down his face as he overturned bricks and wood planks to try and recover his 15-year-old daughter Aliza’s textbooks, who had to miss her 10th standard annual examination on Thursday.
“I can’t even look at this demolished home and not cry,” Hasan told Al Jazeera.
Only three months ago, Hasan was a national hero and had made headlines for rescuing 41 construction workers trapped in a Himalayan tunnel for more than two weeks.
His team of so-called “rat-hole miners” was called to the northern Uttarakhand state after professional rescuers armed with tunnel drilling machines repeatedly failed to reach the trapped workers. A nation of 1.5 billion people held its collective breath as the rat-hole miners dug by hand for 26 hours to free the buried men in November.
Hasan and his team received national recognition for their feat, including praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a selfie with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Cash awards were announced and TV channels interviewed Hasan and his team of rat miners for days.
Only three months later, Hasan’s life turned upside down when he got a frantic call from his daughter while at a shop buying groceries.
‘Dragged out of the house’
Aliza said police officers had arrived at their house to demolish it and that she, along with her older brother Azeem, was standing against the door to prevent the police from entering. It was about 9:30 in the morning.
Soon, half a dozen police officers, some of them female, barged into the house and allegedly hit Aliza and Azeem, the assault caught on camera by people in a crowd that had gathered by now.
“I was slapped by the female police personnel and Azeem was pushed around, slapped and verbally abused. We were then dragged out of the house and thrown into a police car,” Aliza told Al Jazeera.
When Hasan reached home, he saw officials from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the government organisation in charge of planning and development of infrastructure projects in the capital, attempting to demolish his house with large hammers.
Before Hasan could do or say anything, a bulldozer began tearing the structure down.
The DDA claimed Hasan’s house was built illegally on government land. In a statement, it said Hassan’s family was informedbeforeo the demolition and that they were given enough time to evacuate.
Hasan says no prior notice was given and that he had the legal documents to prove it was his house, including an electricity bill issued by the government.
“They claim the act was part of a demolition drive of illegal properties, yet they only demolished one property: mine,” he told Al Jazeera.
The DDA and the police in New Delhi are controlled by Modi’s central government, even though an opposition party governs the capital.
When the DDA was asked about the action, it said it was routine, non-discriminatory and targeted no particular individual.
‘Because I’m from a minority community?’
However, Hasan has a different story to tell. “I told them what I did in Uttarakhand. When all their machines had failed, we dug those workers out. I hoped they would consider not demolishing my house,” he said.
The opposite happened.
“When I told them my name it felt as if what little remorse and pity they had left them,” he said. “I don’t understand why I was targeted. Was it because I am from a minority community?”
Labour rights activist Sucheta De says the demolition was both illegal and criminal. “If we see the past instances of demolitions, it looks targeted, anti-poor and anti-minority,” she told Al Jazeera.
Lawyer Kawalpreet Kaur, who often takes up demolition cases and is closely following Hasan’s, suggested that if indeed Hasan’s property was illegal for so many years, it was the government that needed to answer questions.
“He had been staying in his house for over a decade. The question arises: if the government claims it was their land, what had they been doing for so many years?” she asked, adding that the demolition appeared to be “vindictive” as only Hasan’s house was demolished in the neighbourhood.
2. Munna Qureshi, 29, shows a photo on his phone showing himself, Hasan, and another rat-hole miner after tunnel rescue. [Md Meharban/Al Jazeera]
A tale of bribes
Across New Delhi, a city of more than 30 million people, many residential neighbourhoods are what are known as “irregular” — they do not have all government approvals. Millions of Delhiites live in them, spanning generations. That includes a significant chunk of the city’s Muslim population, which constitutes 12 percent of the city’s residents, and is often forced to relocate to such neighbourhoods after previous targeting of their homes by authorities.
Parts of Khajuri Khas are irregular. While individual residents might have home ownership documents, the grey legal stature of such neighbourhoods gives governments and local officials power over residents, say lawyers and activists. The power to regularise localities, as governments often do to woo voters before elections, eliminating the threat of demolition that otherwise always hovers over those living in these communities. Or, the power to deliver on the threat and demolish homes.
“A large section of the population in Delhi is always under the threat of demolition and can face demolition whenever the government wishes,” De said. “There is no accountability from the government. This is the reality in Delhi.”
Often, the only way to get a temporary reprieve is to pay bribes. That, Hasan claims, is also the case in Khajuri Khas.
Hasan says that in 2016, authorities came with bulldozers and demolished a portion of his house. “That is when my neighbour and I paid (in total) INR 8 lakhs [about $9,500] to them [as a bribe],” he said.
But the officials he paid transferred to another department, and their replacements came asking for bribes again. “I was threatened by the DDA officials that if I didn’t pay up my house would be demolished,” he said. He didn’t have the money to bribe them.
Then, three months ago, authorities arrived to demolish the homes of a few Hindu neighbours, Hasan said. But the local legislator Mohan Singh Bisht, from Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party, intervened and stopped the demolition, he said.
“However, when I called him on the day my house was being demolished, he said he couldn’t do anything,” Hasan said.
Hasan believes that his inability to pay up was a key reason his house was demolished on Wednesday. That he is Muslim made him especially vulnerable.
“Because I am Muslim and because my name is Wakeel Hasan, it is easier for them to demolish my home,” he said.
DDA spokesperson Bijay Shankar Patel denied the charges. “The allegations are not true,” he told Al Jazeera, refusing to offer details on why the house was demolished.
Yet, the bulldozing of Hasan’s home follows a pattern of government agencies targeting Muslim properties and religious structures across India, especially in states governed by the BJP.
Last month, authorities in New Delhi razed a 600-year-old mosque allegedly encroaching on government land. In the same week, at least five people were shot dead by the police in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani town after they protested the demolition of a decades-old mosque and a school.
In two reports published last month, rights group Amnesty International said Indian authorities conducted the “punitive” demolition of at least 128 Muslim properties between April and June 2022, rendering at least 617 people either homeless or without livelihoods.
When his house was being demolished, Hasan, in a desperate move, telephoned Manoj Tiwari, the BJP parliamentarian from his constituency who had garlanded him when he returned to New Delhi after the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue.
“I contacted everyone, but they did not return my calls. Manoj Tiwari had felicitated me and even came to my residence. I called him multiple times. Even after a day of the demolition, he has not returned my calls,” Hasan told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera reached out to Tiwari who said the demolition was being probed. “I told officials about this. But they demolished suddenly. It’s an investigation,” he said, adding that he would arrange for a better house for him, “legally”.
“I talked to the LG [lieutenant governor] Delhi and the house was arranged yesterday [Thursday], but he denied it due to distance. Now, we are arranging nearby,” Tiwari said, adding that there was “no communal angle” to the demolition. The lieutenant governor is a federally appointed nominal head of the Delhi state, equivalent to the governors in other Indian states.
When asked about the growing number of demolitions of Muslim homes, Tiwari said: “It may be a conspiracy against [the] BJP during the election time.” India is set to hold its general election in April and May.
‘They should’ve buried us with the house’
At 9:40am on Wednesday, Hasan’s fellow rat-miner Munna Qureshi was working at a site 35km (22 miles) away when he got a call from his friend. Hasan told him about the ongoing demolition. Qureshi, who had dug out survivors from the Uttarakhand tunnel alongside Hasan, rushed to Khajuri Khas.
There, he says, Hasan and he were detained by police and their phones were confiscated while the demolition was going on.
“At the police station, I was punched in the face and verbally abused,” said Qureshi, who lives in a 2.4-3-metre (8-by-10-foot) rental unit about 400 metres (1,312 feet) from Hasan’s demolished home.
“What will I do with all these trophies and medals? Is this how they treat people who make the country proud?” he said as he held up a box full of medals and prizes he had received for the tunnel rescue.
Hasan’s trophies lie under the rubble of his house.
His wife Shabana was with her in-laws in Modinagar, a small town about 40km (25 miles) from their home, when the demolition occurred. She says they had bought the house in 2013 for 3.3 million rupees ($39,800).
“We had saved our entire lives to buy and build this house and they demolished it in minutes. We borrowed money, sold our village land, and sold our wedding jewellery to buy this property,” she said, adding that they still owed 1.2 million rupees ($14,475) to relatives they had borrowed the money from.
“They knew who my husband was, but they still demolished our house. Just because we are Muslims?” asked Shabana.
Hasan says he is prepared for a lengthy court battle. “I am not very hopeful but we won’t move an inch until we are given our house back,” he said as the family sat and ate on a damaged bed on the side of the road. Over their heads hung a red tarpaulin provided by neighbours.
“They should have buried us with the house,” Hasan’s daughter, Aliza, sobbed.
“Is this a life where we have to sit on a wooden cot by the side of the road?”
Source: Al Jazeera
Indien 3.7.2024: ist das Land mit Schmutz, Abfall und Ratten - und den Regierungen ist es egal:
CODEX-PAJEET II | INDIEN: DAS SCHLIMMSTE LAND DER ERDE
(ENGL orig.: CODEX-PAJEET II | INDIA: THE WORST COUNTRY ON EARTH)
Video auf Odysee: https://odysee.com/@AmalekInternational:6/Codex-Pajeet-II:8 -
18.7.2024: Indien - ärmer gehalten als mit England
Info von Informant Orientalist - 18.7.2024
— die Regierungen seit der Unabhängigkeit von Indien lassen die Bevölkerung [angeblich] noch viel mehr in der Armut als die Engländer vorher.
Komisches
Indien am 22.7.2024: Jemand wollte
Restaurants gemäss Religion einteilen:
Gericht in Indien entscheidet gegen
die Einteilung von Restaurants nach
Religion in BJP-regierten
Bundesstaaten
India court rules against dividing
eateries by religion in BJP-ruled
states
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/22/india-court-rules-against-dividing-eateries-by-religion-in-bjp-ruled-statesIndien
am 13.9.2024: Indiens oberstes Gericht
gewährt Oppositionsführer Arvind
Kejriwal Freilassung auf Kaution
India’s top court grants bail to
opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/13/indias-top-court-grants-bail-to-opposition-leader-arvind-kejriwal-2Indien
27.9.2024: Kinder können nicht
schwimmen:
In Indien: Dutzende
Kinder ertrinken während religiösen
Fests
https://www.nau.ch/news/ausland/dutzende-kinder-ertrinken-wahrend-religiosen-fests-in-indien-66836036Indien am
27.9.2024: Es ruft das Mittelalter:
Mutmaßlicher Ritualmord: Siebenjähriger
in Indien getötet
https://orf.at/stories/3371109/Kinder aus Indien in die Schweiz adoptieren am 27.9.2024: Dokumente fehlten - Vermittlungsstelle hatte gar keine Bewilligung - die kriminelle Mutter Teresa vermittelt Babys von alleinerziehenden indischen Müttern:
Zahlreiche Fälle: Schweiz: Adoptionen indischer Kinder oft ohne Zustimmung der Eltern
https://www.20min.ch/story/zahlreiche-faelle-schweiz-adoptionen-indischer-kinder-oft-ohne-zustimmung-der-eltern-103192497
Letizia Vecchio - Eine aktuelle Forschungsarbeit um die St. Galler Ethnologin Rita Kesselring legt erhebliche Missstände bei der Vermittlung indischer Heimkinder in die Schweiz offen.
Eine neue Studie deckt erhebliche Missstände bei den Adoptionen indischer Kinder in der Schweiz auf.
Behörden schauten offenbar gezielt weg und ignorierten, dass für die Adoption notwendige Dokumente nicht vorgelegt wurden.
Viele Kinder wurden ohne die Zustimmung der leiblichen Eltern vermittelt.
Eine Adoption sieht hohe rechtliche Hürden vor – so müssen die leiblichen Eltern des Kindes beispielsweise eine Verzichtserklärung unterschreiben. Umso erschreckender ist es daher, dass Schweizer Behörden bei der Vermittlung indischer Kinder in den Jahren zwischen 1973 und 2002 nicht so genau hinschauten. Das ergab eine am Freitag veröffentliche Forschungsarbeit um die Ethnologin Rita Kesselring der Universität St. Gallen.
Die Studie «Mutter unbekannt – Adoptionen aus Indien in den Kantonen Zürich und Thurgau, 1973 - 2002» wurde im Auftrag der Kantone Zürich und Thurgau angefertigt. Sie zeigt exemplarisch auf, dass die damals verantwortlichen Stellen in der Mehrzahl der untersuchten Fälle die in der Schweiz geltenden Vorschriften nicht durchgesetzt haben. «Sie akzeptierten, dass ihnen zentrale Dokumente fehlten. Zudem liess der Kanton Zürich eine Vermittlungsstelle gewähren, die nicht über die nötige Bewilligung verfügte», heisst es in der Medienmitteilung des Kantons Zürich.
Heime verdienten Geld mit Adoptionen
Aber warum wurde bei der Adoptionspraxis in diesem Mass «geschludert»? Laut den Forscherinnen zahlte man in der Schweiz damals Geld dafür, dass in Indien Kinder zur Adoption freigegeben wurden. Diese flossen an Mutter-Teresa-Heime, die die Adoptionen vermittelten und denen das Geld als «lukrative Einnahmequelle» diente. Mutter Teresa, die in der katholischen Kirche als Heilige verehrt wird, bat 1987 per Brief das Bundesamt für Ausländerfragen, den Visaprozess für indische Adoptivkinder zu beschleunigen, wie die «Aargauer Zeitung» schreibt.
Bei vielen der untersuchten Fälle handelte es sich nicht um Waisen- oder Findelkinder. Vielmehr wurden die Kinder unverheirateten Frauen weggenommen, die sonst mit gesellschaftlicher Ausgrenzung hätten rechnen müssen und quasi gezwungen wurden, ihr Baby abzugeben.
Richtlinien verschärft
Insgesamt wurden 2278 Heimkinder aus Indien in die Schweiz vermittelt. Bei wie vielen von ihnen die Vorschriften bewusst umgangen wurden, geht aus der Medienmitteilung nicht hervor. Allerdings ist davon die Rede, dass «die Mängel den gesamten Prozess» betrafen: Von der Aufnahme der indischen Kinder, während ihrer Pflege und bis zum Adoptionsentscheid.
Seit 2003 wurden die Richtlinien für Adoptionen mit dem Inkrafttreten des Haager Übereinkommens nachhaltig verschärft. In Indien wurden zudem zahlreiche Mutter-Teresa-Heime geschlossen.
Politische
Gewalt in Indien am 13.10.2024:
Muslimischer Politiker im indischen
Maharashtra Wochen vor den Wahlen
erschossen
Muslim politician in India’s
Maharashtra shot dead weeks before
state polls
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/13/muslim-politician-in-indias-maharashtra-shot-dead-weeks-before-state-pollsZwei Verdächtige befinden sich in Untersuchungshaft, nachdem Baba Siddique vor dem Büro seines Sohnes in Mumbai mehrfach angeschossen wurde.
Two suspects are in custody after Baba Siddique was shot multiple times outside his legislator son’s office in Mumbai.
Indien
mit China am 22.10.2024: Grenzkrieg
ist beendet:
Wie Indien und China sich aus einem
Grenzkrieg zurückzogen – und warum
gerade jetzt
How India and China pulled back from a
border war — and why now
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/22/how-india-and-china-pulled-back-from-a-border-war-and-whyIndien
hat Probleme am 24.10.2024: "Wo werde
ich hingehen?": Hindu-Mann tot,
Muslime im indischen Bahraich werden
angegriffen
‘Where will I go?’: Hindu man dead,
Muslims in India’s Bahraich face
attack
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/24/muslims-arrested-houses-torched-in-indias-bahraich-after-hindu-man-killedIndien
mit Frauenmorden ohne Ende am
26.10.2024:
"Hat das Leben eines Dalits keinen
Wert?": Der Mord an einem Mädchen im
Teenageralter in Indien
‘Does a Dalit’s life have no value?’:
The murder of a teenage girl in India
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/26/does-a-dalits-life-have-no-value-the-murder-of-a-teenage-girl-in-indiaIndien
am 21.11.2024: Ein Milliardär hat
Probleme:
Indischer Milliardär Gautam Adani in
den USA wegen angeblicher Bestechung
und Betrug angeklagt
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani
charged in US for alleged bribery,
fraud
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/11/20/indian-conglomerate-chair-gautam-adani-indicted-in-the-usKenia
gegen den indischen Miliardär Adani
am 21.11.2024:
Kenia storniert nach US-Anklage
Geschäfte mit Adani im Wert von mehr
als 2,5 Milliarden US-Dollar
Kenya cancels more than $2.5bn in
deals with Adani after US indictment
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/11/21/kenya-cancels-more-than-2-5bn-in-deals-with-adani-after-us-indictmentKrimineller
Bill Gates mit kriminellen
Menschenversuchen an Millionen am
4.12.2024:
Bill Gates erklärt Indien zu seinem
„Labor“
https://tkp.at/2024/12/04/bill-gates-erklaert-indien-zu-seinem-labor/Indien
am 12.12.2024: Der neue
Schachweltmeister heisst Gukesh
Dommaraju, ist 18 Jahre alt und kommt
aus Indien:
Indischer Teenager wird jüngster
unangefochtener Schachweltmeister
Indian teenager becomes youngest
undisputed world chess champion
https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2024/12/12/indias-gukesh-beats-chinas-ding-to-become-youngest-chess-world-championIndian teen prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju prevailed in a thrilling endgame that had been expected to end in a draw.
Teenager Gukesh Dommaraju of India became the youngest undisputed chess world champion by beating defending champion Ding Liren of China in a dramatic turn of events in the last game of a 14-game match in Singapore.
Gukesh, 18, is four years younger than Garry Kasparov, who had been the youngest world champion since 1985 when he beat Anatoly Karpov.