The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on the US State Department to designate India as a "country of particular concern" after over 8,500 Muslim homes in the city of Ahmedabad were reportedly destroyed.

"India's far-right Hindutva government has been escalating its targeting of Indian Muslims. Violence and ethnic cleansing are becoming more common," CAIR's National Executive Director, Nihad Awad, said in a statement on Monday.

"It is time for the State Department to recognise India as a country of particular concern and take action to stop the Modi government from continuing its violence against Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other minorities," he added.

Earlier, a report said that more than 8,500 homes were demolished in the area in an anti-encroachment drive, rendering thousands of Muslim families homeless.

The report said that despite the officials' claims that the move was targeting "illegal Bangladeshi migrants", many of those who lost their homes have been living there for decades.

It also said that the move appeared to selectively target Muslims, as several Hindu-owned properties were spared.

Targeting Indian Muslims

In recent years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has increased its actions targeting Indian Muslims.

In April, the Indian Parliament passed controversial changes to Waqf legislation, triggering protests in several parts of the country and a legal battle to overturn it.

Indian Muslims saw the move as an intention to change board structures, increase state oversight, and allow non-Muslims to be appointed to Waqf bodies for the first time.

For years, the Modi government has been demolishing Muslim-owned homes and properties, in what critics say is a collective punishment.

India has around 200 million Muslims, or roughly 14 percent of the population. Many of them face hate crimes and are usually lower in the caste system.