The outrage over the refusal of a Gujarati-dominated housing society to allow a #Maharashtrian woman to rent an apartment/ office at Mulund in #Mumbai is not the first such instance of housing apartheid directed at #Marathi speakers in their own capital. The roots of this discrimination run deep in #history.

Some political activists got together and ensured that the father-son duo in the Mulund society apologised to the woman. But soon, it will be back to business for them. At least, until the next outrage…

Even today, there is no clarity over whether that silly "rule" which was cited as the basis for the denial has been rolled back.

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#Marathi #Maharashtra #MarathiIdentity #Marathipan One must note that while the liberal intelligentsia is quick on its feet to denounce any expression of nativist, pro-Marathi sentiment in Mumbai, they often ignore similar regional and linguistic chauvinism, sub-nationalism and xenophobia in their own states. They also fail to acknowledge that opportunities are often secured through networks linked to caste, linguistic and regional identities with merit per se taking a back seat.

#Mumbai was a part of #Maharashtra in the geographical, historical, and socio-cultural sense. #Marathi speaking groups like the Agaris, Kolis, Bhandaris, Pathare Prabhus, Pachkalashis etc populated the clutch of islands that make today's Mumbai. These indigenous residents had to eventually pay the highest price for Mumbai's 'development.'

Marathi merchant princes and entrepreneurs like Rama Kamat Lotlikar and Jagannath 'Nana' Shankarseth Murkute, and the middle and labour class have built Mumbai brick by brick over the centuries and so have people like Nagu Sayachi and Raosaheb Papanna, who spoke Telugu but were culturally Maharashtrians. Economic migrants from other states came here later because they saw opportunities here and because they felt Mumbai was the mythical El Dorado, the city of gold.

Anyone denying this reality are living under a rock, or perhaps, they are THE rock.

Malabar Hill is the most prestigious & well-guarded neighbourhood in Mumbai. It houses ministers, bureaucrats & the elite. The Raj Bhavan is also located here. In the 1970s, there was a robbery in Raj Bhavan, that too from the Governor's bedroom! #thread #MumbaiPolice #history





Nawab Ali Yavar Jung was the Governor of Maharashtra from 1970-76. Then, the Governor used to stay in Pune during the monsoons.

The latest episode of #Maharashtra’s Game of Thrones saw #AjitPawar split the #NCP & become the deputy chief minister. Let us analyse the impact on the major players in the game
#SharadPawar #MaharashtraPolitics #NCPSplits #politics #BJP #ShivSena #DevendraFadnavis #EknathShinde Eknath Shinde:

The ruling coalition in Maharashtra is now dealing with a problem of plenty. It now includes three parties, the #BJP, chief minister #EknathShinde’s #ShivSena, and now #AjitPawar and his men from the #NCP.

#Hindutva zealots like #SambhajiBhide claim that #MahatmaGandhi's last fast in January 1948 was meant to force India to pay #Rs55crore to #Pakistan. It is also claimed that Gandhi indulged in #Muslim appeasement, but what is the reality?
#thread #history #Gandhi #NathuramGodse The fast was a moral form of protest to ensure communal amity and cessation of hostilities between Hindus and Muslims in India. Gandhi also wanted to ensure the safety of the Hindu and Sikh minorities in Pakistan.

Heard #SambhajiBhide's unhinged rant against #MahatmaGandhi & #MahatmaJotibaPhule. Bhide claims that Gandhi and Phule were anti #Hindu & were given the 'Mahatma' title by the Christ Seva Sangh from Sweden. This thread is meant to set the record straight
#history



It was in a function on 11 May 1888 in the Koliwada hall at Mandvi in #Mumbai that the masses conferred the 'Mahatma' title on #Phule to honour him for his selfless service.
#JotiraoPhule

So, Anish Chandy @LabyrinthAgency was in town and @jitendradixit & yours truly took him for a #Maharashtrian dinner at Nav Mejwani in Dadar West, #Mumbai. It is opposite Amar Hind Mandal.
#Food #FoodTwitter #Marathifood #MaharashtrianFood #Maharashtra We began with Prawn crackers & Aloo wadi

4.5/5

The #ShivSena was launched on 19 June 1966 by #BalThackeray. Its initial targets were #SouthIndians. The genesis of the Sena had its roots in a similar anti-South Indian campaign by his father #PrabodhankarThackeray in 1922 Thread:
#UddhavThackeray #politics #Mumbai #Maharashtra Keshav Sitaram Thackeray was a journalist, author and social reformer. He was referred to as Prabodhankar Thackeray because of his periodical 'Prabodhan' in which he took on casteism and obscurantism.

The dargah of #Sufi saint Makhdoom Ali Mahimi at #Mahim in #Mumbai is revered by the #MumbaiPolice, who lead the ceremonies during the annual urs. A #thread on the patron saint of the police force and how this tradition came about. #history #heritage Indians across faiths follow syncretic traditions. Recently, Tryambakeshwar, a jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva near #Nashik in #Maharashtra, hit the headlines after it was alleged that some Muslims tried to forcibly enter the shrine

This is a thread on Phiroz Rustomji Daruwala, a cold-blooded serial killer who brutally killed an elderly family in a #murder case that rocked #Mumbai and #Maharashtra 50 years ago. The criminal also planned to abduct matka king Ratan Khatri!
#crime #truecrime #murdermysteries 2 February 1971. The neighbours of Darabshah Sethna (82), a resident of Jehangir Mansion, near Metro Cinema at Dhobi Talao in #Mumbai were intrigued. The main door of his 5th floor was locked, which was unprecedented as the family never went out together.

Manwath is a taluka in #Maharashtra's #Parbhani district. It is located around 500-km from #Mumbai. This obscure place was rocked by a series of 10 gruesome ritualistic murders in the 1970s. These killings were the result of #superstition.
#thread #truecrime #police #history Five girls who were about ten years old, an year-old child and four women in their mid-thirties were murdered between 14 November 1972 and 4 January, 1974. These murders had a similar modus operandi and pattern. They were committed at night. These incidents shocked #Maharashtra

For any researcher or author, getting access to old, rare #books & reference material is crucial. There are few book sellers who provide these for a substantial fee. But my experience with at least two of them has been less than average.
#BooksTwitter One of them is a known bibliophile. He stocks and sells copies of old and rare books. His only problem is that you ask him for one book and he will compel you to buy four more. It is like going to a shop to buy something worth Rs 10 and making purchases worth Rs 100!

The #food scene in #Mumbai is actually very boring. #Pune is very vibrant in comparison with several choices on offer. One is actually spoilt for choice…
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#FoodTwitter when it comes to #Marathi food l, there is Surves Pure non-veg at F C road, the various restaurants like Nagpur hotel and Shambhavi in Sadashiv Peth, mutton bhakri joints at Khed Shivapur, Milan and Aware Khanaval at Kumthekar Road,

It has been my peeve that much of #Maharashtrian cuisine is not found in #Mumbai’s restaurants. Most #Marathi places offer #Goan or #Malvani #food. Perhaps because many Marathis here hail from these coastal regions. I found Martand at Lalbag which serves Ghati food #FoodTwitter We decided to begin with Javla papad which serves small, dry prawns with masala papad. 4.5/5

A Doctor can be the greatest criminal of the world. He has the knowledge & the nerve-Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's line was personified by a 40-year old Doctor from #Pune who committed a sensational murder in the 1950s. Thread
#crime #truecrime #Maharashtra #Mumbai At around 5.30 a.m. on 13th November 1956, Anant Chintamun Lagu, a Pune-based doctor, came to the GT Hospital in Mumbai with a 45-yr-old widow, who was unconscious. Lagu said she had fallen unconscious during an overnight train journey from Pune to Mumbai.

#Goa was liberated from over four centuries of #Portuguese rule in 1961. But the Portuguese occupation saw anti-colonial uprisings including the #PintoRevolt or the #ConspiracyofthePintos. It is claimed that the rebels had colluded with #TipuSultan of #Mysore
#history The Pinto revolt at Candolim was the 1st such serious attempt by the people of #Goa to overthrow the #Portuguese. It was a protest against the racial discrimination by the Portuguese.

So, we had dinner at the Folk at Kalaghoda in Mumbai. It’s a quaint place. Thread:

#food #Mumbai Mutton Galauti kabab

Much of the writings about #VDSavarkar paint him in black-&-white, when the truth lies in shades of grey. Brushing inconvenient facts under the carpet, does not do justice to #Savarkar's complex personality. This is a thread about Savarkar from a historic perspective #history On 9 June 1906, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a 23-year-old from Nashik, bid adieu to wife Yamuna and their toddler son Prabhakar, and boarded the SS Persia in Bombay to sail for England to study law. However, even as he was in the high seas,

The #BEST, which provides public transport & supplies power to #Mumbai is an undertaking of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). However, in the 20th century, the #BMC had actually boycotted the use of the BEST's electricity. Thread:
#history #Mumbai #heritage The Bombay Gas Co Ltd was launched in 1862 to provide street lighting & supply coal gas to households in #Mumbai. It however folded up over a century later.
#electricity

Till date, I have been unable to understand the adulatory reports about flats & penthouses in #Mumbai being sold for astronomical sums. How many people as a % of population can afford to buy them? The vast majority of people stay in far-flung areas like Vashind, Karjat etc & spend half their lives commuting in local trains. Their ambitions & lives remain unconsummated thanks to this soul & body sucking commute. Their mental health too goes for a toss. Observe how people are willing to jump at each other in trains for the most trivial reason.

Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (1872-1931) was a Hindustani classical singer. Paluskar stood up to Maulana Mohammed Ali Jauhar who opposed his musical performance in the Kakinada session of the #IndianNationalCongress in 1923
#history #heritage #music #Maharashtra Paluskar has sung the original version of 'Raghupati Raghav Rajaram' & arranged 'Vande Mataram' India's national song. He is also credited with ensuring that #music & musicians secured the respect that they deserved.

#history

Dr #BabasahebAmbedkar was a student at the Columbia University. After reading reports about the plans for a statue, he wrote to the Bombay Chronicle (founded by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta in 1910), opposing the idea of a state as a memorial +
#AmbedkarJayanti2023 #AmbedkarJayanti

https://twitter.com/dhavalkulkarni/status/1643942226425438208

Ambedkar said leaders like Mehta and Gopal Krishna Gokhale had "grappled with many of our problems" and were "entitled to everlasting gratitude for the zeal and sacrifice with which they represented our cause." But a memorial in the form of a statue was "very trivial & unbecoming