When Mohammad Bilal’s house was demolished with his family still inside

“Hamne apni puri zindagi laga di iss makan ko ghar banane me”— Our entire lives have gone in transforming this from a house into a home—Mohammad Bilal said.

The city of Saharanpur, in northwest Uttar Pradesh, is famous for its wooden craftsmanship. In Khatakheri, a neighbourhood where the streets are narrow and lined with wood workshops, the sound of chisels and saws fill the air. But on 11 June 2022, a very different and ominous sound took over, striking fear in the hearts of its residents. That month, Saharanpur was gripped by unrest amid protests against inflammatory remarks against the prophet Mohammed made by Nupur Sharma, who was the national spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janata Party at the time.  The previous day, hundreds of Muslim protesters had conducted demonstrations across cities in Uttar Pradesh calling for Sharma’s arrest, and the state administration responded with violence. Two years later, the residents of Saharanpur seemed unable to remember the exact events of the day. There were different stories running through their collective memory. What they remember clearly is the palpable…


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