The morning of November 24, 2024, began like any other for Nayla and her family in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. She and her brothers, Adnan, Hassan, and Uzair, had a gala time as they hugged their father, Romaan, and bid him goodbye, asking him to come home early. As Romaan left home, Nayla continued playing around the house, waiting for her father to return. His presence, for Nayla, was an inseparable part of her everyday life. However, the happiness of that morning was soon shattered by news that would change the course of her childhood. Romaan had been shot and killed in the violence that erupted in the city.
The unrest followed a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, which had become the center of a contentious dispute over claims that the mosque had been built over a Hindu temple. The violence claimed five lives, including Romaan’s, leaving families to grapple with the sudden loss of their loved ones. Speaking to the Shaagird Foundation, Nayla’s brother recalled the pain of those days and the difficulty of coming to terms with his death. “We have a little patience in our hearts; that’s why we are able to speak; otherwise, we were in no condition to talk,” they said. Meantime, for Shifa, the loss was heavily devastating. As the younger daughter, she shared a close bond with her father, who was a constant presence in her life. His sudden absence left a void that the family continues to feel. But alongside the emotional toll came an immediate and pressing concern: how would the family manage without its sole breadwinner?
Romaan’s death had taken away not only a father but also the financial security on which his children’s future depended. With the family struggling to cope with the loss of its primary source of income, Nayla’s education became uncertain. At a time when she should have been preparing to begin her studies, financial hardship threatened to keep her away from the classroom before her educational journey had even properly begun
Nayla’s brothers, meanwhile, were left hoping that their younger sister would still have the chance to pursue an education and build a future for herself. While the grief was heavy, so was the stress for their education. Soon the Shaagird Foundation learned about the grief and promised them respite by taking the responsibility of Nayla’s education. With the Foundation’s assistance, her education resumed, offering Nayla an opportunity to look towards a future beyond the circumstances that had altered her childhood.
