Politics1 min read

'We grew up around this historic Delhi mosque - now we have been forced out'

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The clearance operation displaced 717 families from around a historic mosque, shifting them to Savda Ghevra approximately 31 miles outside central Delhi. Many of the affected residents had lived in the neighborhood for generations, earning livelihoods as drivers, cleaners, and gardeners for nearby wealthy households. While the mosque and an adjacent temple were spared from the bulldozers, both facilities had their utilities cut as legal disputes over the land continue. The Delhi High Court has temporarily paused further action against the historic religious site ahead of a scheduled mid-December hearing.

Key points

  • Displaced residents lost vital urban jobs and face severe financial distress following th…: Displaced residents lost vital urban jobs and face severe financial distress following their forced relocation far from the city center.
  • The site remains contested between state land claims and Delhi Waqf Board records that da…: The site remains contested between state land claims and Delhi Waqf Board records that date the property registration to 1977.
  • Urban researchers emphasize that this clearance reflects a broader pattern of pushing vul…: Urban researchers emphasize that this clearance reflects a broader pattern of pushing vulnerable populations lacking land titles to distant fringes.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

- Published

In the heart of Delhi, a short distance from the Indian prime minister's residence, a small mosque stands amid piles of rubble. Its pale walls and pointed arches remain intact, its courtyard still lined with green-and-white tiles.

But the people who gave life to the place are gone.

Mohammad Wasim, 50, points across the rubble to the spot where his house once stood.

"My father was married there, and, decades later, so was my daughter," says Wasim, a driver.

Wasim and his family were among hundreds of people who lived around the mosque in a patchwork of modest homes tucked between military compounds, exclusive clubs and sprawling bungalows in Race Course, one of the Indian capital's wealthiest and most heavily guarded neighbourhoods. Many of them had lived here for generations, working as drivers, cleaners and gardeners in the wealthy houses around them.

On 7 October, the authorities demolished their houses across three settlements, saying they had been built illegally on government land. They also raised security concerns because of the houses' proximity to military installations. Some 717 families…

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