Najmul Afrin, a hardworking man in his early forties, ran a humble tea-stall in the bustling Gagan Diwan area near the graveyard. He had spent years serving both his local customers and passersby, with steaming cups of tea that provided a momentary respite from the daily grind.
On that fateful Friday afternoon of March 31, as chaos gripped the town, Najmul stood at a distance, perplexed and deeply concerned about the unfolding situation. However, his worst fears were soon realised when the mob’s actions took a malevolent turn. The mob, consisting of men adorned in saffron attire, brandished swords and sticks, ready to unleash an unprovoked attack unlike anything Najmul had ever witnessed in his lifetime.
In the midst of the rampage, almost all of Najmul’s utensils were stolen. He frantically called the police, but to no avail. Outnumbered and fearing for their lives, the Muslims in the Gagan Diwan market area had no choice but to flee, leaving their businesses unprotected.
Najmul, too, had to abandon his stall. He did not want to risk his life. The next day, when he arrived at the shop, his unit was set on fire. The flames burnt so intensely that it consumed his humble establishment, reducing it to ashes.
With police absent for about two hours, the marauders clearly had all the time they needed. Najmul’s plastic drum and a gas-cylinder was stolen by the attackers.
“Hamein Sadak par la kar khara kar diya hai (They have left us on the road),” Najmul bursted into tears. Everywhere you’d turn in this market, among the lanes where Muslims worked, there was a gutted or looted enterprise.
While the official records blamed the violence on mysterious “outsiders,” a local resident revealed the truth. “It was an inside job,” the man confided. “Gaon ke hi log the.”
“I even offered tea for free to my Hindu friends.” What did I do wrong to deserve this ? asked Najmul. Others too insisted that they did nothing to provoke, which only shows how hard it is for them to process the fact that they were primarily targeted for who they were, irrespective of what they did or did not do.
Living in a joint family of eight, Najmul shared his home with his old parents. The loss of even one day’s income was too heavy upon him.
Dejected at the loss, he was engrossed in his miseries, when Miles2Smile took notice of his situation. We sent him a generous sum of Rs 50,000 to kickstart his business and, soon, the aroma of fresh tea and the sound of clinking cups returned to Najmul’s shop.
