ISLAMABAD: Authorities in India&rsquo;s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh demolished a Muslim shrine on Sunday, January 11, following an order by a local court that declared the structure an illegal encroachment on government land.&nbsp;Officials said the district administration in Deoria used bulldozers to raze the Hazrat Shaheed Syed Abdul Gani Shah Baba shrine, which was located on barren government land on the Deoria&ndash;Gorakhpur Road. The operation was carried out under heavy police deployment to prevent any untoward incident.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 849px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2010356165860032775&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2F&sessionId=6cb67ad56b600ae8755daae5203e3b90bf7b353a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>According to the administration, the action followed directions from the Sadar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) court, which ruled that the land belonged to the government.&nbsp;Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shruti Sharma said the demolition was conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures. &ldquo;The situation in the area is completely normal,&rdquo; she added.&nbsp;The case dates back to 2019, when local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a complaint alleging illegal construction on government land.&nbsp;The demolition has sparked political and public reactions. Senior politician Swami Prasad Maurya, a former local minister, condemned the action, calling it &ldquo;extremely unfortunate&rdquo; and saying it had hurt the religious sentiments of both Muslims and Hindus in the region. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/10182285-f65b-428d-bd36-ecbd31dfe60d-Screenshot 2026-01-12 103931.png" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-12 103931.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 720px;"></figure>Journalist Wasim Akram Tyagi also criticized the demolition, questioning what he described as selective action against minority places of worship, while alleging that numerous religious structures belonging to the majority community exist on government land across the state without facing similar measures.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/9e426e6f-1375-468f-9f9c-fcdbf9915de8-Screenshot 2026-01-12 103900.png" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-12 103900.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure>The Uttar Pradesh administration, however, maintains that the demolition was a legal enforcement action carried out in compliance with a standing court order, and not targeted at any particular community.

India

The case dates back to 2019, when local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a complaint alleging illegal construction on government land.

India bulldozes Muslim shrine on BJP leaders’ complaint

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ISLAMABAD: Fears of large-scale voter disenfranchisement have intensified after the Election Commission of India (EC) released draft electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2025, showing massive deletions across nine states and three Union Territories, Indian media reported on Wednesday. Preliminary figures indicate that nearly 13% of electors have been removed so far, a number that could translate into close to 110 million voters losing their voting rights if not adequately corrected. The most striking case is Uttar Pradesh, where the draft rolls show 28.9 million fewer voters than the previous list, nearly 18.7% of the state&rsquo;s electorate. Similar patterns have emerged elsewhere: around 5.8 million voters were deleted in West Bengal (7.6%), 2.408 million in Kerala (8%), and 9.73 million in Tamil Nadu. BJP-ruled states have also seen sharp reductions, with about 4.2 million deletions in Madhya Pradesh, 41.85% of voters removed in Rajasthan, and at least 7.3 million deletions in Gujarat as per the draft electoral rolls. The EC maintains that most deletions involve duplicate entries, deceased voters, or those who have permanently shifted or were absent during verification. While a month-long window has been provided for objections and corrections, the final number of deletions is likely to be around two or three per cent less than the currently known figure. &lsquo;Opacity and arbitrariness&rsquo;Opposition parties, however, have raised serious concerns over the transparency and design of the SIR process. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the EC of &ldquo;opacity, arbitrariness and informality,&rdquo; alleging procedural violations and misuse of IT systems. The Congress, DMK and Left parties have echoed similar objections, warning that the exercise is being conducted in a hurried and ad hoc manner. &lsquo;Fundamentally flawed&rsquo;&nbsp;Political scientist Yogendra Yadav has described the 2025 SIR as fundamentally flawed, arguing that it places the entire burden of proving eligibility and even citizenship on voters, unlike the 2002 revision, which relied on trained enumerators and existing records. He has also highlighted disproportionate deletions among women, migrants and residents of net in-migration states. With the EC yet to release detailed data on wrongful exclusions, critics warn that unless corrective measures are taken urgently, the SIR could result in unprecedented mass disenfranchisement, undermining the credibility of India&rsquo;s electoral process. Exclusion of over 6 million namesIndia launched a revision of its voter rolls on Nov. 4, 2025, expanding a contentious exercise that activists warn could fuel disenfranchisement in the world&#39;s largest democracy, according to an AFP report. The three-month voter registration overhaul, the SIR &mdash; kicked off in 12 states and territories, many of which are slated to hold local elections next year. Earlier last year, the ECI conducted a similar revision in the eastern state of <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/indian-opposition-criticizes-ruling-bjp-of-voter-purge-driving-bihar-election-victory" style="color:#0073e6;">Bihar</a>, home to more than 130 million people, ahead of its state elections. The process led to the exclusion of around 6.5 million names, which the ECI said was necessary to prevent the inclusion of &quot;foreign illegal immigrants.&quot;

Preliminary figures indicate that nearly 13% of electors have been removed so far, a number that could translate into close to 110 million voters losing their voting rights if not adequately corrected, Indian media reported.

Deletions in draft electoral rolls trigger fears of disenfranchisement in India 

ISLAMABAD: A recent verification drive in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, has drawn public attention in India after an SHO (Station House Officer) reportedly told residents he could determine their nationality using a mobile phone, said an Indian media report Friday. The incident occurred on December 23, 2025, at Bhowapur slum, a settlement of roughly 50 shanties, in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, where SHO Ajay Sharma and his team conducted document checks. According to the Indian media report, Sharma asked a slum dweller to show his identity card. When the man identified himself as a resident of Araria district in Bihar, the SHO reportedly asked if he was from Bihar or Bangladesh. Sharma then told the man that he had a machine, a mobile phone, that could &ldquo;immediately&rdquo; detect if someone was an &ldquo;illegal.&rdquo; The phone was placed on the man&rsquo;s back, and Sharma remarked that it showed &ldquo;Bangladesh.&rdquo; The resident insisted he was from Bihar and that no Bangladeshi was present in the slum. A video clip of the incident that surfaced on social media has prompted widespread discussion. Sharma defended his actions, telling an Indian media outlet that he &ldquo;tried to put pressure on them so that they reveal their true identity&rdquo; and that no one was harassed. A senior police officer clarified that the verification was part of a routine foot march during the Christmas and New Year period, but added that no orders for such methods had come from senior officials. Journalist Mohammed Zubair highlighted the incident on X (formerly Twitter) on Jan. 1, questioning whether the police had a new device to detect citizenship.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 601px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2006682102436413601&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=f953ae37638cf094fd17f8066aa73d6c72aa1f0a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>In response, the Ghaziabad Police Commissioner stated that these verification exercises are part of ongoing efforts to maintain law and order, and document checks are conducted to ensure accuracy.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 730px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2006742625597247777&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=f953ae37638cf094fd17f8066aa73d6c72aa1f0a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>According to the media report, Commissioner J. Ravindra Goud said the video was under review and added, &ldquo;If any person is harassed by police, we will take action.&rdquo; The episode has sparked debate over police methods, citizen dignity, and the appropriateness of using technology in identity verification, particularly in vulnerable slum communities.

Police officer tells man that he has a mobile phone that can ‘immediately’ detect if someone is an illegal resident.

‘Are you Bangladeshi?’: Indian cop faces backlash over phone ‘citizenship scan’

ISLAMABAD: In India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan received a disproportionately high share of central tax devolution between 2020-21 and 2024-25, even though they contribute far less to the nation&rsquo;s total tax collections, according to an Indian media report. The data shared by the Ministry of Finance with the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) shows that Uttar Pradesh accounted for 4.6% of the total tax collected in the country between 2020-21 and 2024-25, but received 15.8% of the taxes shared by the center during this period. Bihar&rsquo;s share in devolution exceeded its contribution to total taxes by 8 percentage points, Madhya Pradesh&rsquo;s by 5.5 pp, and Rajasthan&#39;s by 3.55 pp. &lsquo;Fiscal discrimination&rsquo;&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, where the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party is in government, has in the past blamed the central government for discrimination. In September, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu accused the center, or Union, government of practicing &ldquo;fiscal discrimination against opposition-ruled states,&rdquo; warning that such bias was undermining the spirit of cooperative federalism. According to Indian media, he argued that partisan policies were depriving states such as Tamil Nadu of their legitimate financial allocations and turning cooperative federalism into coercive federalism. Thennarasu alleged that the ruling BJP discriminated against states governed by opposition parties. &ldquo;Just because we belong to the opposition, we are not treated on par with BJP-ruled states. When it comes to the matters of fiscal issues, there must be cooperative federalism, it must be in true spirit.&quot; Six criteria&nbsp;Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of Finance has clarified that States&rsquo; contributions to central taxes are not a criterion considered by the 15th Finance Commission when it formulated its devolution formula for the period 2020-21 to 2025-26. &ldquo;Devolution to States during the last five financial years was based on the inter-se percentage worked out by the 15th Finance Commission on the basis of six criteria &mdash; population, area, income distance, demographic performance, forest &amp; ecology and tax &amp; fiscal efforts. Contribution to the Central Exchequer was not adopted by the 15th FC as a criterion,&rdquo; Minister of State for Finance Panka Chaudhary said in his reply.

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan received disproportionately high central tax devolution between 2020-21 and 2024-25, while contributing less to national taxes; opposition-ruled Tamil Nadu has in the past alleged ‘fiscal discrimination.’

Articles tagged with "Uttar Pradesh"

India bulldozes Muslim shrine on BJP leaders’ complaint

Deletions in draft electoral rolls trigger fears of disenfranchisement in India

‘Are you Bangladeshi?’: Indian cop faces backlash over phone ‘citizenship scan’

Multiple BJP-ruled Indian states receive higher tax devolution despite lower contributions

India bulldozes Muslim shrine on BJP leaders’ complaint