Shahid and his family lived in the Jogiwara area of Sendhwa, Madhya Pradesh where his father Ayyub Khan ran a small furniture shop, which Shahid and his younger brother helped him with.
Shahid and his family lived in the Jogiwara area, in Sendhwa town of Madhya Pradesh. His father Ayyub Khan ran a small furniture business, which Shahid and his younger brother helped him with.
The family lived in that neighbourhood as tenants for about 30 years. They recently had purchased the same house where they were living as tenants. It took the family years of hard work and every penny they had saved rupee by rupee to fulfil the dream of purchasing their own house.
Along with fasting during Ramadan month, the entire family was engaged in the preparations, as the wedding ceremony of Shahid’s younger brother was scheduled in the following month.
Since the events were going to be held in their home, they decided to renovate their two-storey building, unaware of the impending doom of their abode.
In the wake of communal violence that kindled in the Sendhwa town of Madhya Pradesh on April 10,2022, several Muslim houses were demolished by the administration on account of instigating violence or being unauthorized.
On 12th April, when the administration carried out a demolition drive, Shahid’s house was also razed, saying the building was unauthorized.
Shahid’s family was neither served a prior notice nor given any warning. In a matter of minutes, their house was declared illegal and brought down to the grounds.
Shahid estimated his loss to be around 60 lakhs. Several questions started spinning in his head – If their house was illegal, where were the authorities all these years? Was the administration sleeping till now? Why was he not warned about the encroachment? For him, it was not capital punishment but a punishment of the soul.
Reeling under financial duress, the bounteous assistance Shahid received from Miles2Smile gave him occasional happiness amidst the gloom and despair, as he had no other source with him than his small furniture shop to alleviate his financial sufferings. Staggering due to monetary strain, Shahid and his family were immensely grateful to receive a sum of 3 lakhs from Miles2Smile. For them, it was like a ray of hope in times of despair.
