Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Condemns Police Firing, Demands Immediate Rehabilitation To The Homeless

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India Tomorrow

NEW DELHIā€”Condemning the police firing and Dholpur evictions in Assam, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has demanded immediate rehabilitation of the homeless as mandated by the Supreme Court.

As many as three persons are reported to have been killed and several others injured.

JIH vice-president Prof Muhammad Salim Engineer said that the Siphajhar district administration mercilessly evicted more than 900 families with utter disregard to all legal norms and international humanitarian obligations.

He said that evicted persons needed food, shelter, and legal assistance immediately.

The JIH leader demanded that ā€œthe state government of Assam must take full responsibility for this and ensure that justice is delivered to the victims by punishing the concerned officials and police officers behind such a brutal attack.ā€

ā€œWe hope that the report of the judicial inquiry is made public as soon as possible,ā€ he stated.

Prof. Salim also demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore each to the families of the two deceased persons and Rs 50 lakh each to the seriously injured.

The JIH vice-president observed that eviction of the Muslim community from different places in Assam had begun ever since the BJP came to power in the state.

ā€œThousands of people have been evicted from their hearth and home by the BJP government. About three months back, 300 families were evicted in the Dhubri district. Two years back, around 445 families were evicted from the Chotea area of Biswanath district who are still homeless,ā€ Prof. Salim said.

Prof. Salim pointed out that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) in its Fact Sheet 21/Rev 1, while recognizing the right to adequate housing, also contained certain freedoms for the people.

And these freedoms include:

  1. Protection against forced evictions and the arbitrary destruction and demolition of oneā€™s home.
  2. The right to be free from arbitrary interference with oneā€™s home, privacy, and family.
  3. The right to choose oneā€™s residence, determine where to live, and freedom of movement.

He said that India had ratified this international law guaranteeing housing as a fundamental human right.

He also pointed out that the Supreme Court of India, in several judgments, has also held that the right to adequate housing is a fundamental right emanating from the right to life protected by Article 21 of the Constitution of India. However, the BJP government in Assam does not seem to care about this legal and moral obligation. Instead, it is accusing the poor and homeless as ā€œencroachersā€ and ā€œillegal residents” who can be dispensed like criminals in a bid to demonstrate development and progress. These evictions go against the basic tenets of our Constitution and must be rolled back and instead, and steps should be taken to rehabilitate them suitably at the earliest”.

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