Raj Thackeray’s anti-Bihari invective, in the same vein as his rant against ‘outsiders from north India’ at the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena public meeting in August, should surprise no one. After the Bihar police protested at not being taken into confidence in the arrest of an Azad Maidan rioter by the Mumbai police in Sitamarhi, Raj threatened to brand all Biharis as ‘infiltrators’ and throw them out of Maharashtra if the Bihar government posed any impediments to the investigation. He also demanded registration of all migrants — read people from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. The call was quickly endorsed by his cousin Uddhav in the Shiv Sena, who revived the demand for a permit system to keep out ‘Bangladeshis’. The MNS has got away with worse, beating up students from the north appearing for railway recruitment examinations and Bihari taxi drivers and shopkeepers in Mumbai, apart from pouring vitriol on all migrants. After all, the MNS has learnt its political style from the Shiv Sena. Its portrayal of the Bihari or “bhaiyya” from Uttar Pradesh as dirty and criminal is reminiscent of the way “Madrasis” were once caricatured by the Shiv Sena. While nothing better can be expected from the two Senas bent on capturing the Marathi vote bank, what is inexplicable is the consistently limp response of the ruling coalition in dealing with these threats.
Bal Thackeray’s father Keshav Sitaram Thackeray or Prabodhankar, who encouraged his son to form the Shiv Sena, wrote in his autobiography that the family hailed from a place near Nashik. He went to Kolkata for his studies, after which he moved to Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh before arriving in Mumbai, all in search of livelihood. That makes it plain that Prabodhankar was no less a migrant than the tens of thousands arriving in Mumbai every day. India’s commercial capital owes much to the sweat and toil of migrants. Over the centuries the city has welcomed them and benefited from them. Both the MNS and Sena should know that without its multi-ethnic workforce drawn from all corners of the country, Mumbai would not be the metropolis it is today. It is the constitutional right of every citizen to travel and live in any part of the country; it is the state’s duty to secure this right. Unfortunately, the Congress lacks the gumption to tackle the chauvinism of the Senas. Political expediency might be the reason the Prithviraj Chavan government lets the MNS get away with its provocations, but it can continue to play this game only at great risk to the social and economic fabric of India’s biggest metropolis. It is time the Maharashtra government stood up and showed that the state has not withered away.
Keywords: The Hindu Editorial, Raj Thackeray, anti-Bihari speech, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Azad Maidan riots, Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena, Bangladeshis rhetoric
As the article ‘sons who soil’ argues, the migration towards Mumbai had created actual AAMCHI MUMBAI. The requirement of man power for growth created migration and thus Mumbai was built in progressive shape.
This is shameful that lions of papers are targeting poor taxi drivers in name of regionalism and showing their strength against poor people. I don’t think Thackeray family is part of Mumbai for last thousands years, since Thackeray is not the surname of fishers actually.
In India, everyone has right to go wherever he wants. Role of Congress government is also dubious, since it is letting Raj Thackeray to say anything, he wants.
Rajat Sharma “rajaji”
You are right in saying that the social and economic fabric should be
protected by the govt. But, seriously, who in the government cares about
it? They are happy as long as their pockets are stuffed with money and
their needs are met.
Bad Politics is dragging our country behind. Its time to think for the nation building but it seems nation building still remaims a dream. Mumbai is for all. People residing there supports migration.
It is the hard work of all people that makes a place for all. Lets us shun all regional differences and lets contribute towards nation building. Lets put politics aside and promote harmony as true Indians.
Blaming KCR or Thackeryes is no brainer. Inspite of its vast resources
why US is trying to be protectionist country ? We all go out to
protect rights of Tribals and farmers affected by Dams. Then, are we
blind to see the effect of new populations taking over the resources
which are scrace and not sufficient to feed all. The real culprits are
the people who concentrated all job opportunities to Metros' and did
not think of developing infrastructure in rural areas.
How does one feel when asked to vacate his house for road extension ?
Or how does one feel when he doesn't get job in his own city where he
grew up ? Worst is in the field of low cadre jobs. The migrant people
occupy all available spaces leaving the local population in total
distress.
It need not be Thackeray to lead these protests. Tomorrow some other
leader will emerge . Unless local population is assured of their
rights very soon every metro will face same situation.
There will be more Udhavs in other states if it is not controlled with a steel hand now. For example KCR and his Telengana Party want all Andhras from coastal AP should be sent out of Hyderabad. So If and when Telengana is created, KCR family will take the cue from Thakeray family and insist on Visas for rest of Andhras like YSR had predicted and KCR's son KTR endorsed later.
I am Maharashrian and working in Pune , why these fake people trying to didvide INDIA .
Can Raj answer my question what happened if Marathi people need to go to Bihar for work ?
IS this something going top happened when one district people cannot work in other district ?
What i know is , this is dirty politics and i think we need to stand against this , be voted to person who speak for development..
why not divide the country into further 28 pieces as there are 28
states , or else divide the country into parts based on religion,
otherwise divide it on the basis of caste , else skin color , else
language ...
There is so much internal unrest in the country, why wont terrorist
target us. If a foreigner says something ,then it becomes 'racial
abuse'.
Its really pathetic that people are so narrow-minded in our country ,
no wonder everywhere Indians have bad reputation. And the people who
boast about their land,caste,religion etc I want to say onething - '
There is no self-made man ,you are made - up of thousands of others
which you dont even realize and probably will never realize. '
The unchecked trend of regional chauvinism is creating bitterness among Bihari and Marathi people.Both are good at heart and both want to live in peace,it's the unjustified,unnecessary provocation from few disturbed politicians which is making them realize that they are Bihari and Marathi first and Indian latter.This is a blot to our "Incredible India".Not only the state government but also the UPA-led central government need to show these few insane people what true India is.
For those critical of this editorial: It is not enough to criticise the Hindu and vociferously state that the Senas don't represent all Maharastrians.
If Maharastrians don't identify with the Senas and their politics, then
it is their duty to put this lot out of business.
Let me be more practical.Unless and there is strict law to curb those kind of speech politicains in every part of our highly immoral,selfish and corrupt country continue to do so.The other way to reject them is to severly punishing them by ballott box,which is not going tohappen in my mother country for another 5 decades as we are more intersted to vote for money and for hooligans than for honest noble people.Second restricting people to move to mega metro cities in the 21st century.As long as you don't provide the basic necessities in rural area,no citizen has the right to stop the fleeing poor just for want of food to the cities.Imagine if you could get the same quality of life in a rural bihar as you get in metros any fool wil migrate leaving the tranquilled life in village.Can it happen with the current highly educated politicians we select, certainly not. The solution is kindly do the revoultion through the ballot box and eventually things will change probably in the next century.
I have two reservations regarding this editorial;
Firstly,
Raj Thackeray did not "threatened to brand all Biharis as ‘infiltrators’ and throw them out of Maharashtra if the Bihar government posed any impediments to the investigation."
What he said was ,IF a letter saying that Bihar government will slap ABDUCTION & KIDNAPPING cases against Maharashtra Police is really written THEN why should he not BRAND all Bihari's as infiltrators.
Secondly it would have been great service by THE HINDU, if at all they would have quoted the source of Prabhodhankar's book(eg:Name.Publication. Year of Publication Pg No.etc)
Its not that all MARATHI people support the Thackerays, but the hatred and language used by national media,be it print or electronic,pains common marathi manoos.
JAI HIND...JAI MAHARASHTRA....!!!!
I don't have word to express my deep sadness over the state of affair in
Mumbai.
How come people come under influence of some one so menial.
Dude! grow up this is 21st century India.
previous i hate Raj thakray for his remarks against biharis.But after, deeply pondering i realise that, whatevr Raj thakray he is doing,doing for country.He avoiding directly blaming muslims because our country is secular country nobody can blame directly sentiments of any religion but when a particular religion is thrusting sentiments of whole country then whole community of particular reasons are blamed. aif somebody goes anywhere in the country without informing their chief minister and without telling him that he is going to committing a crime then why any states police can enter in any states.if some politicions particular heads of states can accept responsibility what is doing their states people on another states only then other states police should ask whatever is doing by their states man in another states.
@Suyash: How about controlling migration of companies and their headquarters in Mumbai first? You want the Milk but keep the cows in neighbours house. This will not work.
@All: Migration happens because job opportunities are not uniform. So in this case Govt of Bihar are equally responsible for not developing Bihar at Par with Mumbai or Gujarat. Raj's behaviour is definately antinational, and it must be controlled by any means.
@Ajit : Firstly implementing permit system will be very difficult you will need another govt department for that & still there will be leakages given the corruption. How come millions of Bangladeshi in India despite a border with BSF deployment. Secondly the moment you implement it industry will shut shop & move to other place where there is no permit. Try it if you dont believe, hahaha....
Being a Maharashtrian since birth, I know how various political parties claim to represent interest of the "Marathi Manoos" and whether they actually have the larger interests of the people in mind is another story.
However, I feel that atleast from a purely logistical point of view, the regulation of migrants coming to Mumbai is of utmost importance. The public infrastructure in Mumbai as we all know is not the robust mechanism that the city actually needs. Rather it's like an old horse that may collapse under its own weight if more people keep on coming here to seek jobs and settle down. Already, Mumbai is bursting at the seams.
Hence I feel that influx of migrants to Mumbai should be monitored and severely regulated.
The Thackerays are goons, no more. Why are they at large? If Mr. Bal Thackeray
doesn't approve of a movie, it is not released, under threat of unleashing his goons
on any cinema which violates his order. What does this family think? They act like
some sort of godfather and think that Mumbai is their backyard.
Mumbai would have remained a small fishing village were it not for the
Portuguese, the British, the Punjabis, Gujaratis, Biharis, Bengalis, and so on and so
forth.
I wonder why the Mumbaikar put up with them honestly. It is not the Bihari or the
UP-wallah that need to be thrown out of Mumbai, but rather the Thackeray family.
Banish them to some tiny hamlet somewhere, to a place which represents Mumbai
before the migrants came there!
Your hard-hitting editorial is spot on but for totally unnecessary and irrelevant mention about Thackerays themselves being migrants. Whether Thackerays themselves are migrants or not is not germane to issue at hand. As you cogently pointed out, Indian constitution grants all Indians inalienable right to move and settle anywhere in country and but for the "limp response" (as you memorably put it) of successive governments, Sena's (and her progeny MNS) vitriolic campaign would not have got any traction. The grand idea of India is being sacrificed every day at the altar of narrow, partisan and anti-national politicking.
Raj Thakare is doing what he is doing because there is a problem in Maharshtra and he is responding in his own style. The Hindu paper and other media does not have knowledge of the problem nor they have willingness to understand that there is a problem and needs solution. The anti migrant feeling is growing all over the WORLD. It is time to find reason and try to correct it. If Raj Thakere or Balasaheb were not in Mumbai, it would have become like Patna or UP. Do you want the economic hub of India to become like Bihar? As far as progress of region done by Migrant in Mumbai is concerned just remember that Mumbai was much better place during 1950 & 1960s before migrant started to pour in. Migrant always & always go to better places from worse places and convert good places inot bad places. This problem should be addressed if you want to Stop anti migrant feeling which growing in many parts of India. Criticizing Raj without understanding the reasons for his stand is easy and shallow.
Who is really behind bihari bashing? is it only Raj or is he only HMV for saffron brigade, to get back at Nitish, who is positioning and posturing himself as the messiah for biharis and distancing himself from modi led saffron brigade.The Congress-NCP does not have the strength to fight the marathi manoos slogan, for the fear of a backlash in the next elections. How these divisive forces are to be handled? Do we ignore them or push them into jail, at the drop of a hat and make them martyrs? it is a known fact that thackrays' have the financial backing of most of the business houses in Mumbai atleast, of course for their survival and safety.
It is also a fact that Mumbai is inundated with influx not only from other states, which is not a big issue any more , but of migrant bangladeshi , who senak into the city and form militant outfits, creating havoc. We could see pakistani flags all over the slums in the city.We need someone to fight these forces.let raj not fight fellow indians.
Time has come to come together as INDIANS.
Agreed with the arguments the editorial makes - however, the point is that highlighting the significance of migrants in the process of urbanization is not something this political ideology will understand - or wish to understand. Something like the insecurity created in the minds of the people by a political ideology of xenophobia does not just go away by the strict actions of the state. It needs to go away by gradual integration of all people - natural residents and migrants, in equal ways. Welfare and opportunities need to be created without jeopardizing cultural and traditional moralities. It cant be an either/or case of equality; its more of a continuos proces of inclusion - and it has to be led by the state as much as the civil society. This is not mere vote-bank politics; its a call to go back to conservatism, with a glorification of right-wing liberal economy. The reason to wonder is more that why these political wills are so popular - anyways??
Either citizen is Bihari or marathi ,but it is the matter of statism
in our country. this is only doing by sivsena for their vote bank
nothing else. if he has real patriotism feeling for their state or
their country ,then should not doing such wasteful task to declined
their image himself, this type idea create a situation like "AA BBAL
MUJHE MAR" ,this bihari verses navnirman is quite wrong thinking. can
u tell me RAJ THAKREY SAHEB how many state are their which are not
contributed by BIHARI OR BHAIYA. IF these people left the state than
your navnirman never be possible, so calm down and think before saying
some thing.
Raj Thackeray is the true replica of ordinary leaders
possessing no intellectual qualities to win the hearts of the masses.
It could be childish to expect quality speech from the leader like Raj
Thackary who ill-defines the word ‘Infiltrators’ and unable to spell it
correctly and is looking forward to opportunities to disturb the peace
and harmony of country. His limited knowledge and minuscule thoughts
will spread hatred across the nation and instill caste, communal and
regional feelings into the innocent mind. Such leaders in Bihar have
been languishing in jail under the strict rule of Nitish government and
hope Maharashtra will follow suit.
Glare of TV cameras and much media attention also encourages MNS chief
to speak venom and remain in public domain.
It not the ethical duties of the media to telecast or publish hate
statements of street leaders which stand no value at all. Thackeray
will naturally gag himself up to the hilt if media avoid covering his
story.
The Permit system should be applicable to all migrants from any part of our country.It will really help in controlling the influx in metropolis.
Also it will be useful for Mumbai Police to keep law and order in the city.It can be also useful for preventing future terror attacks. Permit system is good as long as we sees it in the 'security' perspective.
The Sena has a lot to learn from Clinton's recent speech "Conflict is
good, but what works in reality is Cooperation". Sena's Chauvinism is
just a therapy to massage their own egos. It is high time they start
looking at the Society through a different lens for a better tomorrow.
Raj Thackeray is never tired of treating the people from other
parts of India as aliens. The Maharashtra government has turned deaf
ears to the utterances of Sena leaders. It is obvious that the
Maharashtra government is not averse to the statements of Sena men.
It is evident that the people at the helm of affairs subscribe to the
view of sena men without showing that they are so, so as to avoid the
ire of people from other states.
I do not understand how any human can think in this manner. Although he
has no right to decide who is going to enter his territory or state
unless you suspect anyone for security point. The bigger issue is the
people of state supporting them every aspect they can. Why these people
do not understand that any candidate from MNS took any social initiative
to eradicate poverty, infrastructure, corruption so that people in their
state will not die due to starvation.
Dear Thackeary Brothers,I want to draw your energetic attention towards some other "Marathi" problems.I my opinion your GK,and of course your brother your uncle's also,is very poor and even poorer than a student of class X. For you, Maharashtra means, only Maumbai and Pune. And always fighting for the rights and identity of the people of these two confined areas.Thackeary brothers, there are some other areas also, please put a little bit of your "energetic" attention in Vidarbh to help poor farmers. But if you don's want to work for a very long time. At least,go to Nagpur and help those people who are affect by flood.Please don't waste your "Marathi" energy only in Mumbai.Just come out of your "nest" and see how big Maharashtra is, and left rest of the India to others. Because, that would be beyond your capacity.Also dear brethren,there is a thing in India name is CONSTITUTION,whenever you get leisure time please study it.A very intelligent person from your state had drafted it.
In a developing world migration from one area to another in search of means of livelihood is inevitable. At the same time the migrants should adopt the culture of the new home which has provided them succour. Often migrants are found to continue to openly display parochial tendencies flouting the norms of behavior of the natives of the place. It is no secret that it is the migrants who toil hard whereas the locals rest on their laurels gained through inheritance and are not known to exert themselves choosing to lead an easy life. This is true of the entire world. The migrants who work hard and contribute to the development of their adopted home become objects of envy of the locals resulting in a dog in the manger attitude as the one displayed by Raj Thakeray and his cronies. When "aditi devo bhava"
is a philosphy of our land the same should apply to behavior towards the migrant settlers. Political parties should not pander to vote bank sentiments while taking administrative action.
So long as MNS performs its role as a 'spoiler' and splits votes of the opposition parties, thus ensuring electoral success for the ruling Congress-NCP combine, its antics will be ignored by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. But the recent polls have shown that MNS is weaning away vote-share from all parties including Congress.Thus it is time MNS has to stop this rhetoric and expand its base. Unless this is done it will not grow beyond a certain limit. Off course Raj Thakare's comments are highly objectionable, but so is the reluctance of the Bihar government to allow arrest in Bihar of a suspected criminal who participated in the Mumbai riot. Why should Bihar government protest against the arrest?
The title "Sons who soil" superbly suits the editorial, which has succinctly summed up the numerous unsavoury activities being indulged in by the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena and Shiv Sena, every now and then, under the pretext of protecting the interests of the sons of the soil.As pertinently pointed out, Raj and Udhav Thackerays have most convenintly opted to forget the fact that 'Greater Mumbai',now deemed to be the commercial capital of the country,could attain its present enviable status, only because the talented migrants from other parts of the country put in their best efforts towards that, without reservations of any kind. The motive behind their periodical protests - mostly violent- is crystal clear to everyone. However, for reasons quite obvious, the state government has not initiated stern measures to curb them. The editorial should awaken it.
Dear 'The Hindu' Team,
Why do you have to write an article to clarify that we all Indians are Indians 'together' and not 'divided'.
Moreover, Raj Thackeray or any thackeray/thakre does not represent the Marathi ethos or are not the official ambassadors or maaibaaps of marathas or mumbaiites.
It is apparent that out of commercial interests and deep rooted corruption, these people want to show that they are the voice of Mumbai and Maharashtra, which is not true.
Who is a Thackeray to tell what Mumbai wants? They have not built the city to what it is and have only harmed it, and Mumbai has always lost a few crores whenever they have called for 'bullied' bandhs. Their bandhs are successful because of these powerful acts of theirs- 1) Pelting stones 2) Beating Poor People 3) Giving a flat-tyre to all vehicles should you ply on their so called bandh.
Getting 50000 people for a rally is no big deal because at the rate of Rs.100/- per person we can get as many people as we want.
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