Nearly 1,000 residents lost their homes last week in a demolition drive justified as encroachment clearance
The displaced families continue to live in makeshift shelters erected amid the debris
The government acted only after the CPI(M) and the Kerala Chief Minister labelled the demolitions as “bulldozer raj”
As Bengaluru battled an unusually severe cold wave, police personnel and civic authorities descended on Fakir Colony and Wasim Layout in Kogilu village in the early hours, executing a large-scale demolition drive at the instance of the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government. The operation, carried out with heavy police deployment and JCB earthmovers, targeted densely populated settlements that officials described as “illegal encroachments.”
What began as a civic action has since snowballed into a major political controversy. The eviction drive, carried out last week, has drawn national attention, forcing the Congress leadership to step in amid mounting criticism. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala has seized upon the incident to launch a sharp political attack on the Congress, accusing it of replicating the “bulldozer raj” associated with the BJP government led by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The controversy has placed the Congress in an uncomfortable position, particularly as it has consistently criticised bulldozer-driven demolitions elsewhere as unconstitutional and targeted against minorities. The Bengaluru operation has now become a flashpoint in the larger political battle over governance, minority rights, and the selective use of state power.
Eviction without notice
The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) justified the action by claiming that the houses had been built on encroached public land and that the drive was part of an encroachment clearance programme. Residents, however, contested this claim, stating that they had lived in the settlements for several years and possessed documents such as electricity connections, ration cards and voter IDs bearing the addresses.
Eyewitnesses said police personnel, accompanied by civic officials, carried out the demolitions in a hurried and indiscriminate manner, leaving families little time to retrieve their belongings. Around 180 to 200 houses were razed within hours, rendering about 1000 people homeless. The affected population is mainly Muslim, with several families belonging to the Scheduled Castes, raising concerns of disproportionate impact on marginalised communities.
Those evicted included pregnant women, infants, school-going children, and elderly men and women suffering from age-related illnesses. With temperatures dipping sharply, families were seen huddling in the open amid the rubble of their homes, many without blankets, food, or access to basic medical care. Residents said repeated pleas to halt the demolitions or allow time for evacuation were ignored.
Crucially, those affected alleged that the demolition was carried out without prior notice, consultation, or the provision of alternative accommodation. Legal experts note that Supreme Court guidelines require due process, including adequate notice and an opportunity to rehabilitate, before evictions—especially in cases involving long-term habitation.
Local activists and civil rights groups criticised the operation, calling it “inhumane” and “punitive,” and questioned the urgency of conducting it during extreme weather conditions.
According to Dudiyuva Janara Vedike, a civil society collective working among marginalised communities, as many as 1,002 people have been rendered homeless following what it described as the indiscriminate demolition of houses. The eviction drive was carried out across three settlements—Fakir Colony, Fakir Colony New, and Waseem Layout.
The group said that 82 houses were demolished in Waseem Layout, 40 in Fakir Colony, and 45 in Fakir Colony New, for a total of 167 houses razed during the operation.
Dudiyuva Janara Vedike has also documented the religious composition of the affected families. Of the 151 Muslim households residing in the three settlements, 31 Muslim homes were demolished, the group said. One Christian family was also affected by the drive.
“All the people living here are daily wage workers. Neither the government nor any civic authority issued notices or warned residents to vacate. Everything happened suddenly,” said Nandini, of the Dudiyuva Janara Vedike. “At least a majority of these families have been living here for nearly 30 years. They possess all necessary identity documents, including Aadhaar cards and ration cards.”
The group has demanded temporary shelter for the displaced families, and a transparent inquiry into the legality of the eviction process.
The families rendered homeless by the demolition have refused to vacate the site. With assistance from NGOs and human rights groups, they have erected makeshift shelters amid the debris of their demolished homes. However, uncertainty looms large over their future. “We don’t know what will happen next,” said Zadiya, who is pregnant, echoing the anxiety shared by many displaced residents.
'Replicating Yogi Adityanath Model'
Notably, even the opposition in Karnataka—the Bharatiya Janata Party—refrained from framing the demolitions as a human rights issue. The episode, however, acquired a sharp political edge after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to X to condemn the action, accusing the Congress-led Karnataka government of replicating the “Yogi Adityanath model” of bulldozer-driven governance seen in Uttar Pradesh.
Seeking to escalate the issue, the CPI(M) deputed its Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim to the site. After visiting the affected settlements, Rahim launched a scathing attack on the Siddaramaiah government, accusing it of targeting the most marginalised sections of society while sparing the powerful.
“When it comes to encroachments, why is the government singling out the most vulnerable?” Rahim asked. “These are among the poorest people in the city. If they were encroachers, how did government departments issue them Aadhaar cards and voter IDs? What the Congress government is doing here is no different from what BJP governments have done in states like Uttar Pradesh. We do not know of any powerful people who have ever been evicted for encroaching on government land. Does the government have the political will to publish a comprehensive report on encroachments across Karnataka?”
Rahim’s remarks reflect the CPI(M)’s broader attempt to turn the episode into a political weapon against the Congress, portraying the demolition drive as evidence of what it describes as the party’s anti-Muslim and anti-Dalit approach.
The remarks further intensified the political fallout of the demolitions, with the issue now resonating beyond Karnataka and feeding into a broader national debate on selective enforcement, minority targeting, and the use of state power against the urban poor.
“The irony is that in Karnataka, this demolition was not initially treated as a political issue at all. The BJP did not utter a word, and the government showed no empathy,” said A.V.S. Namboothiri, a senior journalist based in Bengaluru. “Everything changed only after the Kerala Chief Minister and the CPI(M) took up the issue. That intervention forced the AICC to step in. It was only then that the BJP became agitated, accusing the Congress high command of back-seat driving the Karnataka government.”
Namboothiri said such demolition drives rarely generate political debate in the State. “Land has always been deeply enmeshed with politics here, with several political leaders alleged to have links to the real estate lobby. Demolitions of this kind have never become political flashpoints,” he said.
“What is different this time is that the plight of these poor families received attention because of the intervention of the Kerala Chief Minister and his party,” Namboothiri added.
Government forced to Act!
Soon after their homes were demolished, the affected families staged a dharna in front of Urban Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, demanding an immediate halt to the evictions and relief for those rendered homeless. The protest, however, failed to elicit a response, with the government remaining unyielding.
“When it comes to the depressed and the most vulnerable, all political parties behave the same way,” said Dr Shama Sherif, a human rights activist. Questioning the government’s justification, she said the claim that these marginalised families were encroachers “does not make sense.”
“How can a government become so insensitive to the suffering of its own people? This level of callousness is beyond comprehension,” she said, criticising what she described as a complete absence of empathy in the handling of the evictions.
Soon after, the issue snowballed into a major political embarrassment, prompting the government to act. Authorities have visited the place and the details of those who have become homeless have been collected. A high-level meeting is reportedly considering various options to rehabilitate residents in the three colonies. On Sunday, Minister Zamer Ahamed Khan visited the site and assured the victims that they would hear the good news soon. “We don’t believe in any assurances till they are materialised. These are the people who have nowhere to go, no one cares about their life,” says Nandini when asked about whether she believes in the assurance. She, along with several other activists, is trying to save people who were indiscriminately thrown out of their homes by the authorities.
