Thread by @YRDeshmukh

Your first assertion is absolutely correct. It was the brutal misuse of caste system (which was never supposed to be by birth to start with) for centuries which pushed a major section of Hindu society to bottom of the pyramid. Yes, that shameful past was fodder to conversion.

https://twitter.com/tashreefi/status/1109752116946628610

We need truth to be told for reconciliation. Without that we will never be at peace with ourselves. There are three truths that are to be reconciled in the same order, one after the other. The atrocities on Shurdra in Caste Sysytem by upper caste is the first truth to start with.

Second truth is that hardly any Muslim in subcontinent belongs to Saudi Arabia. Few generations back, their forefathers were Hindus, real blood brothers to our own forefathers. They were converted either by sword, or by reaction to oppression by upper caste groups. That’s a fact.

Third truth is that, under Muslim rule, the egalitarian system of Islam gave kind of relief to this “bottom of the pyramid” just by being close to power centre, and the reaction of Hindus towards the converted lot kept on increasing the divide.

So for reconciliation, first of all we have to say sorry to all the converted lot, for pushing them to extreme. For not being able to save them when they were raped, looted and converted under sword. Yes , they suffered a lot and rest of Hindu Samaj did nothing to save them.

Second reconciliation, after saying sorry to the converted lot, is to accept that they did not come from Arabia. We have same Hindu forefathers. Now, they might be practicing Islam, doesn’t mean we have different DNA. Both sides need to understand and accept that wholeheartedly.

Third reconciliation is: yes the invaders were brutal and bloodthirsty. They inflicted undeniable scars on our souls using barbarian violence and destruction. But our converted Muslim brothers did not do that. The invaders did that. Why hold our own brothers responsible for that?

I know I am going to touch raw nerves in most corners by saying this. But that’s the truth, and I want reconciliation. If that starts with me saying sorry to my brothers and sisters from that bottom of pyramid, who suffered a lot due to the caste system for centuries: be it.

I am sorry that my forefathers generations must have practiced caste system to push you downwards. I am sorry that they did not or could not save you when the invaders plundered and looted and raped fellow Indians. I am sorry they could not save you when you were being converted.

I am sorry that even after conversions, my forefathers generations banished their own blood, their own brothers as foreigners, just because they got converted. I am sorry that rather than this shocking to ignite reforms in Hindu society, we peddle narrative of ‘Us and Them’.

Having said sorry, I do wish reconciliation. I don’t even want a temple at the Ayodhya site. I just wish the truth to be told and accepted that unbearable pain and destruction was induced by the invaders. Including Ayodhya. But my own Muslim brothers were not responsible for it.

If I have hurt you in anyway for saying all these things, I am sorry. But I said what in utmost truthfulness I genuinely feel about. I want to be at peace with myself. And I wish the same peace to you. There is no bigger farce than the two nation theory. That’s the truth. 🙏🏽