| Marathi Mania |
The damage that a handful of miscreants or political desperados can do to the social fabric of a state merely to carve out their niche votebank cannot be reflected more clearly than in the case of Maharshtra. What happened there was a shame that made the entire nation flinch in shock. Following in the footsteps of his mentor Balassaheb and his Shiv Sena Maharshtra Nav Nirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray decided that the state was only for Marathis and the people who have come to work here from other regions are actually eating into the resources of the state. And since a major percentage came from the state of Bihar, so they should all be beaten up and driven out!
Of course it was nothing but a gimmick to gather Marathi votes, by playing up the people of one state against another. The attacks on North Indians in Mumbai no wonder had countrywide backlash and were severly criticized. While there was violent reaction in Bihar with ministers submitting resignations and the people calling bandh all across the state, there were violence against Maharastrians in Delhi and Haryana too.
But the Chief Minister instead of taking steps that would end this attempt to create a permanent social chasm showed tunnel vision by declaring to reserve 80% jobs in new industries for locals. The continuance of the MNS violence against poor wage earners also showed lack of political will to check it. The Chief Minister went to Delhi 3 times before deciding to arrest Raj Thackeray, while Mumbai continued to simmer.
The damage would have been serious and deep rooted and, God forbid, Raj Thackeray’s antics would have created another Kashmir in Maharashtra had not the Mumbai attacks exposed his true image. The protector of Marathi Manoos and the slayer of aliens on the Marathi soil disappeared in his burrow when Mumbai was up in flames. And thankfully as for now people got disillusioned with his Marathi mania. And all his attempts to show hatred towards Biharis, from speaking ill about the sacred festival of Chhath to cutting with vengeance the ‘Bhaiyya’ cake, fell flat. Even the death of the Bihari youth in hands of the Mumbai police protesting the hate campaign failed to bring in a reaction that the Mumbai attacks did. Mr Thackeray would now probably have to device new ways in 2009 to hog the headlines once again.
Solving Marathi-Bihari discord, the Nilekani way »
The plight of Biharis: Who’s responsible? »
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