Let me be heard as a mere Muslim youth: Sharjeel Usmani’s speech at Elgar Parishad

The following is the transcription of the speech that Sharjeel Usmani gave at the 2021 Elgar Parishad. Usmani discusses what it means for a Muslim youth to be a citizen of India in a time of rampant majoritarianism and structural violence. He laments how the current regime has voided the Indian Constitution of its egalitarian principles.

Respected dignitaries on stage, dear friends and elders, I sincerely request all of you to separate me from my name, my citizenship, my rectitude, my goodness, my shortcomings and let me be heard as a mere Muslim youth. As a Muslim youth, I am here to express my pain, tell the story of my looted house, send a message of my anger and declare my battle. I greet you all with great politeness Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah hi wa Barakatuhu (May the blessings of my Lord be upon you) When Harshali Ji invited me to come to this program, I was worried, I had a fear because this was for the first time when I was going to speak to primarily a non-Muslim audience. I was not able to extrapolate what to say and how to say it. If you disagree with what I said, or if you find any…


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