The report on JCB’s involvement in Israeli settler colonialism and India’s punitive ‘bulldozer justice’ is launched as the campaign starts proceedings against JCB’s role in India.

The Stop JCB Demolitions Campaign, a coalition of organisations campaigning against demolitions carried out by British construction manufacturer JCB in occupied Palestine, India and Kashmir will be holding a public meeting in London on 25th January. This date marks the eve of India’s Republic Day and one year from the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling on Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The purpose of the event will be:

* to launch a new report, Stop JCB’s Bulldozer Genocide: a report on human rights violations in Palestine, India and Kashmir.

* to listen to speakers: Researcher and activist Afreen Fatima, from India, whose home was punitively demolished; community activists Tamara Ezz El-Din Barbar and Sara Maher Fhedat, from East Jerusalem, whose homes and communities face demolition to make way for illegal Israeli settlements; and Peter Frankental from Amnesty International who has researched JCB extensively.

* to announce the filing of a complaint with the UK National Contact Point, under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, alleging JCB UK’s failure to take necessary actions to address the adverse human rights impacts resulting from the use of its heavy machinery products in “punitive demolitions” in India.

As documented in the Stop JCB’s Bulldozer Genocide report, bulldozers manufactured by JCB, a British manufacturer of construction equipment, are used to advance settlement expansion in occupied Palestine and the punitive demolition of homes, places of worship, businesses and other institutions in both India and Kashmir.

The report finds that:

– In India, Narendra Modi’s Hindu-supremacist BJP government has consistently used JCB bulldozers to demolish Muslim homes, shops and places of worship across various Indian states in an ongoing project disturbingly named ‘bulldozer justice’. JCB is so closely intertwined with this project that it has become synonymous with attacks on Muslims.

– In Palestine, JCB operates through its sole dealer, the Israeli company Comasco, which holds contracts with Israel’s Ministry of Defence for the same model of JCB machines used in the demolitions and illegal construction of settlements in the West Bank. From as far back as 2006 the Israeli military has been photographed demolishing Palestinian homes with JCB bulldozers.

– Kashmir has seen an increased use of JCB bulldozers since the Indian government’s abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. A series of demolition drives have been carried out by the Indian government under the guise of development projects to build townships while simultaneously dispossessing local Kashmiri ownership, which have targeted private properties, often ignoring court directives.

The Stop JCB Demolitions Campaign is demanding that:

1) JCB must end its relationship with the Israeli Ministry of Defence and cease all activities in occupied Palestine.

2) JCB must commit to ensuring that its products are not used for human rights violations in India and Kashmir through robust monitoring and prevention systems. This includes making compulsory the use of its existing LiveLink technology to trace and locate JCB machines. JCB’s failure to use this technology is a violation of its human rights responsibilities.

Mukti Shah from South Asia Solidarity Group said: “The sun may have set on the British empire but British imperialism lives on. Today’s robber barons are ruthless and unethical multinational companies like JCB, a British construction company which manufactures bulldozers.

“JCB’s Chairman, billionaire Anthony Bamford, is a major donor to the British Conservative party and a close friend of Boris Johnson. The JCB empire is controlled by the Bamford family trusts, which has been reportedly investigated by HMRC over alleged aggressive tax avoidance measures. Despite this, JCB has recently received a Royal Warrant of appointment in appreciation. JCB cannot continue to enjoy patronage and prestige while it is allowing its equipment to be used to advance the ethnic cleansing projects of Israel and the Indian state.”

Rehmat Ahmed from South Asia Justice Campaign said: “JCB UK has so far refused to acknowledge and act on its business and human rights responsibilities. We believe that the punitive demolitions using JCB machines will continue in the future and an intervention by the OECD’s National Contact Point (NCP) for Responsible Business Conduct could be vital in this regard.”

Azfar Shafi from Nijjor Manush said: “Despite obfuscations and denial by JCB, it is clear that the company is acutely aware that its equipment is being used in service of settler colonialism, Zionist expansion and Hindutva, and it has a duty to put a stop to this.

“While both the BJP government of Narendra Modi and Netanyahu’s government in Israel have faced their own recent setbacks, their projects of settlement and colonisation continue unabated. Breaking JCB’s ties of complicity is a vital undertaking for those standing in solidarity here in Britain.”

The Stop JCB Demolitions Campaign comprises South Asia Solidarity Group, South Asia Justice Campaign, Nijjor Manush, South Asians for Palestine. The full report can be viewed here. The report is being launched on Saturday 25th January 2025 at 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, near Russell Square,  London,  WC1B 5EH. Registration details here. Venue available on registration. Details of speakers here.