Locals question Pushkar Singh Dhami government’s motives as over 20 Muslim shrines demolished in the ongoing campaign
RAMNAGAR — The Uttarakhand government of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday demolished a mazar that had stood for years in the grounds of the Government Inter College in Dhela, Ramnagar. The demolition, carried out with a bulldozer, was done after repeated complaints from Hindu organisations, who claimed the structure was “illegal” and “disturbing the environment” of the school.
A heavy police presence was deployed during the demolition to prevent resistance. Officials confirmed that the action came after a survey by the local administration declared the mazar an encroachment. According to Sub-District Magistrate Pramod Kumar, “The tomb has been removed peacefully from the ground of Dhela Vidyalaya. So far, more than 20 illegal tombs have been removed in Ramnagar and surrounding areas.” He added that the campaign will continue to “stop illegal encroachments on government lands”.
Muslim residents, however, say the demolition is part of a wider pattern of targeting Muslim religious sites. “This mazar had been here for decades without harming anyone. Suddenly they call it illegal because some Hindu groups demand it,” said local resident Abdul Rahman. “If this is not anti-Muslim bias, then what is?”
Eyewitnesses said the mazar was used by locals for prayers and held sentimental value for the community. “Our elders used to visit this place. It was part of our faith and history here,” said Shabana Begum, a resident of Dhela. “Now they have erased it with a machine, as if our heritage means nothing.”
The Hindu organisations who pushed for the demolition argued that the mazar was affecting students’ concentration. “The presence of the tomb was creating an inappropriate atmosphere for a government school,” claimed one member of a Hindu group. However, some local Hindus disagreed. “The claim about students’ concentration is nonsense. We never saw students distracted because of the mazar,” said Rajesh Kumar, a shopkeeper near the school.
The incident follows a series of demolitions in which more than 20 mazars in Ramnagar and nearby areas have been destroyed. Many Muslims see this as a deliberate campaign aimed at erasing their religious presence. “If something is illegal, it should be decided in a fair and transparent way, not based on the demands of one community against another,” said advocate Farhan Siddiqui. “The law should be equal for everyone, but here, only Muslim sites are being demolished.”
Rights groups have also raised alarm over the growing use of bulldozers in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to demolish Muslim-owned structures without adequate legal process. “Such actions create fear and insecurity among Muslims,” said a statement from a local civil rights organisation. “They send a message that our places of worship can be removed at any time.”
For many in Ramnagar, the destruction of the Dhela mazar is not just about one structure, but about a broader atmosphere of hostility. “It is as if they want to remove every sign of us from public spaces,” Abdul Rahman said. “But our faith is in our hearts — no bulldozer can destroy that.”
