Broken livelihood, wrongful incarceration, and a ray of hope are all what describe Musabbir Ali’s life, the survivor of Tripura Violence, 2026.
On the 10th of January, 2026, like on usual days, Musabbir Ali woke up with the hope to earn decently and live life peacefully. He was on his way to earn the bread when a mob of people punctuated his way, asked for chanda (donation money) for Bhairab Mela’s pooja, and then launched an unforgettable onslaught on him along with other Muslims of his vicinity. Homes were burnt, livelihoods were erased, mosque was vandalized, residents were beaten mercilessly, and innocents were put behind bars.
To know the details of the violence, one needs to get the cognizance of its sequence, which started on January 10th but has left a lingering mark on the lives of those who survived it. The initial parts of the violence reveal that a mob allegedly belonging to the Hindutva community stormed Tripura’s Fatikroy to collect donations for the prayers to be held at Bhairab Mela.
The first person to encounter the mob was Musabbir Ali. “They asked for donations; my father said he would give it when he gets money, like he did in previous years, but the mob did not hear, rather started beating him mercilessly,” said Musabbir Ali’s son when speaking to Miles2Smile.
The incident soon turned into violence, the second part of the sequence. After beating Musabbir Ali, the mob set the village on fire by burning shops, assets, homes, and the lone mosque of the village. The Jama Masjid. Residents were left with the remains of their scattered lives to mourn in oblivion until another blow struck: the incarceration of them.
For the crime that never happened, connecting the first part of the sequence to the third part. What makes it more heinous is that the incarnated men were the sole breadwinners of their families.
Musabbir Ali’s story records all of the above-mentioned sequences. He was first beaten, his shop turned black, and his livelihood shattered, and later he was arrested. His wife stood there witnessing all, clueless as to how to stitch back life.
When Miles2Smile met Musabbir Ali’s family, they had multiple reasons to sob but not one to get hopes to collect the ruins together and build a life again. In an act to provide steadiness in their lives, Miles2Smile provided immediate funds to the family to meet the daily expenses. This was done under our project Dastgir, which aims to help the families of whose who are wrongfully incarcerated. Shortly after that we rebuilt the shop, helping them attain financial stability.
