India, Feb. 23 -- Five years on, the scars of the riots remain etched into the walls of Munni Devi and Naresh Chand's two-story home in Shiv Vihar. Thick black soot clings to every surface, charred utensils sit abandoned on a concrete slab on the top floor, and a broken washbasin rests in a corner of the terrace - all silent witnesses to the night their home burned.
On February 23, 2020, as violence swept through northeast Delhi, Devi sent her husband, daughter-in-law, and infant grandchild to a relative's house in Mustafabad. She stayed behind with her son, Umakant. Two days later, the riots reached their doorstep. A mob, armed with sticks, rods, and petrol, set their home ablaze.
"We crouched on the first floor, praying they wouldn't fi...