This is an English translation of @Shiva__1's pinned thread in Marathi. Was thinking of doing this for sometime. Think this is the right time as events which happened the other day have been really triggering, and this is exactly how I feel. Here goes. 1/19

I've honestly had enough, so now it's about time I said this out loud.

•We as a society have routinely backstabbed our fellow citizens belonging to the Muslim community.• 2/19

When I was a kid, dad used to take me to Sambhaji Brigade and Seva Sangh meetings. It was in these meetings that we learned the real history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

So far, the Brahminists have always distorted this history and spread falsehoods to 3/19

sow Islamophobia for their personal benefit, when the real story is completely different.

A lot of Muslims used to speak at and attend these meetings. And whenever I listened to or interacted with them, I sensed a very apologetic tone in their voice. 4/19

It was almost as if they were trying to say, "We Muslims are good people. Look at our contributions in history. Please don't misunderstand us. Please see us as your own people." 5/19

Till date, I see Muslims doing the same. Desperately trying to win the approval of so-called liberal Hindus. This is just Maharashtra that I'm talking about btw. Hindi Belt is beyond redemption. There's no point even trying to talk about it. 6/19

What I mean is, I've never seen them be confident, self-assured, and assertive.

My friend Adil Sheikh lives in the room next to mine. (Poor guy. He's stuck with me). He's studying for the state civil services and is very politically aware. His dad is a welding mechanic. 7/19

Adil and I regularly talk about politics and he knows that I vehemently oppose right wing politics. And yet, he never expresses his views about RW freely in front of me.

He probably feels that because I'm a Hindu, I will feel offended and our friendship will be ruined. 8/19

Imagine how terrible it feels when your own friend can't express himself freely in front of you, just because you're a Hindu and he's a Muslim. When I thought about this after he left the other day, I cried so much. 9/19

I had attended the protest for Maratha reservations and saw a lot of Muslim-owned stalls serving water and refreshments to the protestors. But when Muslims had protested for reservations in a few places, I wonder how many non-Muslims would have served them water? 10/19

I can guarantee, not even one!

On the one hand, our Muslim community has always steadfastly guarded secular principles.

And on the other hand, the 'progressive', 'politically correct' crowd always uses this community for its own political benefits. 11/19

They say, "Oh, we're secular. We're so secular". You assholes, shove your secularism where the sun doesn't shine. We're not secular and never have been. 12/19

Whenever some random maulana, whom 99.9% Muslims oppose talks some shit, we jump at the opportunity to point out how regressive Muslims are. Because this gives us a perverse pleasure and helps us conveniently ignore the rot within ourselves. 13/19

Our own community has elected a donkey to power for the second time in spite of his being completely inefficient. We gave him a landslide victory in 2019 and for what? 14/19

I am a fan of social reformer Hamid Dalwai. He is my hero. But I feel that the solutions he had proposed are no longer relevant in today's context. The Muslim youth of today must forge a completely new path out of this mess. 15/19

The confidence and self-esteem of Muslim youth has been destroyed by our society, and until they don't gather the courage to look these so-called 'progressives' in the eye and call them out on their hypocrisy, no change will ever be possible. 16/19

My dear Muslim friends, the Dalits have united against oppression. All marginalized communities have come together to fight against their persecution. Now it is your turn to unite and fight.

These so-called progressives are not your people. They never were. 17/19

You must come together and find your own answers.

And to my fellow liberals, I just want to say that while we love calling ourselves progressive, we were never serious abt addressing Muslim concerns. Time and again, we've thrown them under the bus. 18/19

We are selfish pretenders of the highest order. 19/19

Original thread https://twitter.com/Shiva__1/status/1252216368826585095?s=20