‘Mee Mumbaikar’ is what I would like to call myself. Nopes I’m not propagating the Shiv Sena party ideology. It is just that I am proud to be born and brought up n Mumbai. I am a South Indian, not a Maharashtrian. Does that mean i cannot stay in this city?
The violence afflicted by the Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) over the past few days has hurt me. Raj Thackeray the party president says that migrants should not be allowed in Mumbai since the city cannot take any more influx of population from other states. He criticised hindi film star Amitabh Bacchan for pouring his own finances to the state of Uttar Pradesh, his birth place rather than Mumbai, his residence. I feel its Amitabh’s own wish, he can donate money to any state any cause he wants. After all its his money!
Raj also disrupted a rally to be conducted by Amar Singh, leader of the Samajwadi Party. Hence a feud broke out between members of both the parties. I saw visuals of the violence on television and was shocked to see the same. Men with swords were breaking window panes of taxis, dragging out people and beating them to death.
I don’t believe in Mumbai being a city only for Maharashtrians. Earlier the Shiv Sena in the 1990’s had targeted South Indians and then Gujaratis in mumbai who made a place for themselves in the city. But how can you be so intolerant? Mumbai is not some special city, whose borders have to be sealed.
IS this what we call democracy? in a democracy people irrespective of caste/community/religion can choose to live in any place they want. Our Indian constitution promises the same. Then why are you torturing the North Indians? Yes, there are some anti-social elements in every community. But you cannot generalise about a community as a whole like they are ‘hooligans.’
The Mumbai economy is made up of North Indians who do occupations like driving taxis, porters or maidservants. it is true that states like UP, Bihar are economically less developed compared to the metropolitan cities. Hence people come here to search jobs, but this policy of ‘exclusion’ can never work. The solution has to be developed by he Central Government.
And lastly as my friend pointed out, the entire drama is being enacted by Raj Thackeray, Bal Thackeray’s nephew who broke away from the Shiv Sena and formed a rebel party. But even well-educated people like us will think it is the Shiv Sena which is behind this violence and not the Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena. The ideology of ‘Mee Mumbaikar’ is common between the two, however they both differ in the treatment of the campaign.
Mumbai belongs to one and all. The city is not owned by a particular community!
