On our phone screens, every story of hate crime, or religiously motivated lynching, seems like just another headline to us; every name, just another name. What we often fail to realize is that these names aren’t just instruments for headlines, they’re real people. Among all these names, were two from a small village, Ghatmika, Rajasthan, which lost themselves in the ocean of hate, leaving defeated families behind; Nasir and Junaid.
Nasir (25) and Junaid (35) were threatened, brutally beaten, and set on fire; while travelling from their home on February 16,2023. The question of why it happened, left the ideas of free choice in shambles, it was merely on the suspicion of carrying beef.
“Who were these cow vigilantes? Who made them the arbitrator to decide how to solve the matter? Was there any proof that the duo was transporting beef?”, such questions made rounds all over the internet for a few days, subsequently falling into oblivion. What was left behind were 2 families, forced to encounter life on their own.
Nasir left behind a wife and an adopted daughter; and Junaid’s four sons, two daughters and their mother. The 15 year old daughter, attached to her father could not bear the news of the brutality her father was put through, fell ill and lost her life this May 2023.
What seemed like criminals to the gaurakhshaks, were actually what the villagers recall as “the light of the society”, Junaid’s friends recall the times they spent together, and remember him as a jolly person, who was the sole earner in his family. Junaid was known for his friendly nature . He attended every funeral, extended helping hands to every sick person.
“Village without Junaid is no longer a home to us, it seems lifeless. Happy occasions are no longer ‘happy’ . We miss him terribly, we cry for him daily”, said one of the neighbours who wished to maintain anonymity.
Junaid’s wife, Sajida, now left with five kids, was left devastated. She could not manage to meet the ends until Miles2Smile came as a peacemaker. Miles2Smile was incorporated in 2020 with the aim to help the people like Sajida and other survivors of violence.
Her sons presented an interest towards academics, but could not attend school due to financial constraints. Miles2Smile facilitated admissions in a private boarding school of Rajasthan, by the assistance of Shaagird foundation.
With uncountable cases of lynchings a year, humanity and the laws of the civil world get contested; hate consumes the victim, and left behind are the families, which live on being the shells of what they once used to be, striving to live dignified lives. Miles2Smile aims to open the way for all of them. We wish to make a nation where people share the space they deserve.
