Overview
- The Barmer administration demolished a religious structure in Malana village on June 18 as part of an enforcement action that officials say removed a building on grazing land under central directions.
- The operation follows a May directive from Union Home Minister Amit Shah that ordered district officials to identify and remove illegal constructions within a 15-km radius of the India–Pakistan border.
- Local residents and religious leaders say a madrasa has operated at the Malana site since 2009 and that panchayat-issued leases and residential (abadi) classification cover parts of the plot, claims the administration disputes.
- Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and other Congress leaders have condemned the razing as selective targeting of Muslim sites and have demanded that the Ministry of Home Affairs stop the drive and clarify its position; the ministry has not issued a detailed public rebuttal in the reporting to date.
- Heavy police deployments during demolitions and reports of notices or removal orders for other religious sites have raised fears of communal polarisation in historically peaceful border districts and could escalate political and local tensions if the survey continues without clear legal adjudication.