Turkman gate demolition and rioting
Turkman gate demolition and firing was an infamous case of political oppression and police brutality during the Emergency when the police shot and killed people protesting against demolitions of their houses ordered by Indira Gandhi's government in 1976.
During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi's government prompted by her son Sanjay launched the demolition drive to cleanse Delhi of slums and force poor residents to leave Delhi and move to distant settlements. The residents of Turkman Gate mostly Muslims refused to move as they would have to commute every day paying heavy bus fares to reach the city to earn their living. They resisted the bulldozing of their houses. On April 18, 1976, the police opened fire on protesters killing several of them. The government who had earlier imposed censorship ordered the newspapers not to report the massacre. Indian public came to know about killings through foreign media like BBC.
See also
References
- Slum clearance, demolitions, etc. and firing in Turkman Gate during the emergency, June 25, 1975-March 21, 1977: report of Fact Finding Committee. New Delhi, Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs.
