Report exposes India's and Israel’s use of JCB bulldozers for anti-Muslim demolitions

A recent report titled “Bulldozer Genocide” exposed that India and Israel purchase bulldozers from a British company to specifically demolish Muslim properties in Palestine, occupied Kashmir, and other parts of India.

The report, released by British civil society groups on January 25, was authored by South Asia Solidarity Group, Nijjor Manush, South Asians for Palestine, and South Asia Justice Campaign.

According to the findings, JC Bamford Excavators Limited (JCB), a company headed by billionaire Anthony Bamford, has been supplying bulldozers to India and Israel, both of whom face international scrutiny over persecution of Muslim population.

The report highlighted  that JCB bulldozers have frequently been spotted at demolition sites where Israel and India have carried out anti-Muslim demolition exercises.

It also noted that JCB received a royal warrant from King Charles in January. Additionally, JCB's chairperson, Anthony Bamford, is a Conservative Party donor and a close associate of former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

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Since 2006, JCB bulldozers have increasingly been used in anti-Muslim campaigns, leading to the destruction of 767 structures in Palestinian territory, including 262 homes, while also being involved in the construction of Israeli settlements between 2002 and 2018.

The research further disclosed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has used JCB bulldozers to destroy thousands of Muslim homes, shops, and businesses.

A major controversy emerged in April 2022, when then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson posed with a JCB bulldozer in India. The photo op took place just a day after the same bulldozers were used to demolish Muslim properties in Gujarat.

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A report by Amnesty International also exposed Modi’s government for using the demolition of Muslim properties as ‘a form of extrajudicial punishment’ under the pretext of anti-encroachment drives.

In 2023 alone, the Indian government reportedly destroyed 330 Muslim mausoleums.

Far-right Hindu nationalist parties have even rebranded JCB machines as ‘Jihadi Control Board’ bulldozers , according to the report.

The report urged JCB to sever its partnership with Israel and halt its operations in occupied Palestinian territories. It also demanded that JCB implement robust monitoring and ensure “its products are not used for human rights violations in India and Kashmir through robust monitoring and prevention systems".