Living in a joint family of nine members, Sakina found comfort in her modest home. She never imagined that she would have to see the same house getting demolished in front of her own eyes.
When violence engulfed the town of Sendhwa, Sakina received a notice of the demolition of her house. She read the notice with shock and dismay. It felt like the sky was falling above her head. With no roof above their heads, how would Sakina protect her family? Moreover, her son Shahbaz, was already in jail for more than a month. Sakina was stuck in predicaments that seemed to be coming from all sides.
Fifteen minutes later, when Sakina was still recovering from the shock after receiving the notice, JCBs and Bulldozers arrived in her neighbourhood. Sakina was unable to understand what was happening. She wasn’t given enough time to even pack her essentials. As she heard the rumbling noise of a bulldozer approaching her, Sakina was filled with horror and apprehension.
Her house was being demolished solely on the accusations that her son, Shahbaz, was involved in the violence erupted during the Ramnavami procession of April 10, 2022. However, Shahbaz has been in jail for the last 35 days. How was he possibly accused of another crime during his prison time? How would he come out of jail to participate in riots that occurred a few days before? Why would the authorities let Shahbaz go? Several questions were whirling in her mind. Nevertheless, the cops and the bulldozers did not wait for any explanations. They went on with their demolition drive.
Sakina and her family watched helplessly as the authorities demolished a part of their house. The injustice that Sakina faced during that day was enough to make her feel insecure and unsafe for a long time. When we visited Sakina’s family, they were still recovering from the incident. Remembering the demolition, Sakina sobbed when she narrated the events of that day to us. With her son in incarceration and a part of her house demolished, she was dejected like her other family members. Besides, the prospect of further police action also disturbed her peace.
When the arms of injustice are agile and deft, how can one wink even for a moment?
Her son’s release and a small help to reconstruct her house was the only thing she requested from us with a trembling pulse. Although the monetary aid cannot help lessen the turmoil she had to face mentally, the assistance Miles2Smile provided to Sakina is slowly helping her rebuild what she lost.
Sakina had an appealing temerity to fight back and bring hues to her otherwise appalling hopes.
