Miles2Smile releases a documentary, “Road to Ruins of Nuh,” which describes a harrowing account of the communal violence that engulfed the town of Nuh, Haryana, in July and August 2023. With the arrival of the festive season around the corner in the month of July 2023, the people of Nuh, a town in Haryana, faced chilling communal violence. The communal violence erupted during a religious procession organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) known as the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra.
The violence reportedly claimed the demolition of around 1,208 structures at 37 sites spanning 72.1 acres. On August 4, district authorities of Nuh in Haryana demolished 18 shops built on Mohammad Sahud’s ancestral land, which he and his brothers claim they inherited in 1998. There were 18 permanent structures, including pharmacies, diagnostic centers, and grocery shops, spread across a 4,400-square-foot area. The five-day demolition drive, which began on August 3, spread to Nalhar, Firozpur Jhirka, and Nagina areas of Nuh. A few cases of demolition were reported from Pinangwan and Tauru too.
With the release of documentaries, Miles2Smile aims at giving voices to the stories unheard by the masses. Moved by the same aim, Miles2Smile releases “Road to Ruins of Nuh.” This documentary not only chronicles the demolition drives faced by the Mewati Muslims but also unveils the struggles faced by Muslim people in the democratic country of India.
“Our house was here, and they demolished it with a bulldozer. As soon as they arrived, they started bulldozing it and gave us just 2 hours to clear out and leave as quickly as possible.”
One of the survivors of communal violence told Miles2Smile while talking about the horrors of the violence. “We were concerned for our lives; vehicles were burning here, gunfire was happening there, and stones were being thrown away everywhere,” another survivor said.
While covering these stories, Miles2Smile decided to provide respite to the affected families. In order to do so, it constructed 10 homes for their accommodations and 3 smile shops to provide livelihood. In addition to this, 23 tents and 15 ration kits along with utensils, blankets, clothes, shoes, jackets, and sweaters for winter were provided. With the aim of bringing back the lives of people to normalcy, Miles2Smile traveled several times to Mewat, heard the issues of people, and provided necessary things according to their needs
Miles2Smile believes in making connections where love, respect, and trust are the main ingredients in order to bring a change in the society we, the pacifists, foresee. To make this connection and give respect to the Mewat community, the organization conducted a ‘Key to Smile’ event. The event was attended by the Mamman Khan MLA, Firozpur Jhirka, Haryana, Aasif Mujtaba, Founder & Director, Miles2Smile, and other chief guests. The purpose of the event was to handover keys of constructed houses to those whose houses were demolished.
Under the Relief & Rehabilitation project, MIles2Smile with the support of its volunteers, provides relief to the families affected by communal violence, demolition, mob lynching, and other dehumanization faced by the people. The refile is provided by giving a roof, building livelihoods, and other necessary things. This initiative has earned the smiles of many individuals and has changed the lives of people.
