JCB 'Brand Of Choice In Hate Campaign' In India, Says Amnesty International

Amnesty International has questioned JCB for allowing the use of its bulldozers in demolitions in India.

(File Image) A bulldozer demolishes a Muslim-owned hotel/restaurant in Haryana’s Nuh on 6 August 2023. The police alleged it was used to pelt stones during communal clashes in the district on 31 July.

(The Quint/Arbab Ali)

Amnesty International has questioned the Joseph Cyril Bamford or JCB brand, for the rampant use of its bulldozers in demolitions across India, especially those of Muslim owned and run properties, in the aftermath of a communal clash. “India’s widespread unlawful demolitions of Muslims’ homes, businesses and places of worship through the use of JCB bulldozers and other machines must stop immediately,” the Amnesty International said in reports released Wednesday, 7 February.

In the two reports titled ‘If you speak up, your house will be demolished’: Bulldozer Injustice in India’ and ‘Unearthing Accountability: JCB's Role and Responsibility in Bulldozer Injustice in India’, Amnesty International questioned the JCB, in light of several demolitions that have taken place in different states. Amnesty International, in a press release, called JCB the “brand of choice in a hate campaign against the minority community” and say they have been used for the “punitive demolition of Muslim properties in at least five states”.

“The authorities have repeatedly undermined the rule of law, destroying homes, businesses or places of worship, through targeted campaigns of hate, harassment, violence and the weaponization of JCB bulldozers. These human rights abuses must be urgently addressed,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

Several demolitions have taken place in different parts of India in the last two years, most recently in Mumbai’s Mira Road after the Ram Temple inauguration. In 2022, ‘bulldozer justice’ came to be a common term after it was witnessed in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone and Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, among others.

JCB Being Termed 'Jihad Control Board', Says Amnesty

Amnesty International, further, questioned why JCB found its use for such demolition purposes.

“Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab and Digital Verification Corps have verified that JCB’s machines, while not the only vehicles used, were the most widely deployed equipment in these demolitions. Their repeated use have given rise to the use of monikers for the company like ‘Jihad Control Board’ by celebratory right-wing media and politicians,” Amnesty states.

In April 2022, BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao had tweeted "JCB = Jihad Control Board #BulldozerBaba" with a picture of the heavy machine. Rao subsequently deleted the post.

Amnesty International researchers found between April and June 2022, governments in five states - Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states of Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ruled state of Delhi - carried out demolitions as a ‘punishment’ following episodes of communal violence.

Amnesty International has further said that it investigated 63 of 128 documented demolitions in detail, and found that in at least 33, the instances of the repeated use of JCB’s equipment were verified.

'Company Has No Control Over Use Or Abuse': JCB

Amnesty International has said that in response to a letter sent by the body to JCB, a JCB spokesperson said that “once products have been sold to customers, the company has no control over or responsibility for their products’ use or abuse.”

However, Amnesty wrote that such an explanation is not in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

“Under international standards, JCB is responsible for addressing what third-party buyers do with its equipment. The company must stop looking away as JCB machines are used to target and punish the Muslim community, while people sloganeer anti-Muslim vitriol mounted from atop these bulldozers. JCB cannot continue to evade responsibility while its machines are repeatedly used to inflict human rights abuses,” said Callamard.

The Secretary General further said that the company "must publicly condemn the use of its machinery to commit human rights violations, including punitive demolitions of Muslim properties in India, use its leverage to mitigate adverse impact and create robust human rights due diligence policies for the use of its equipment across the globe.”