On Raj Thackeray and Marathi Asmita

Last couple of weeks in the country were marked with ugly forms of Violence and Political mud slinging. It was heart breaking to see people from different parts of country pointing fingers at other communities. It was further disappointing to see that none of the so-called intellectuals (other than Shobha De) from Maharashtra or else where are voicing their opinions on the issue. The issue seems to be hijacked by politicians who are using the incidents to gain political mileage.

So the first question is, Do Mumbaikars / Marathis have first claim on jobs in Maharashtra and Mumbai ? Most of the people even though they dont support violence seem to have an positive answer to this. They talk about a law which says 80 % of the "un-skilled" jobs should be reserved for locals. I confess that even I used to keep this view that for all the unskilled jobs there should be reservation for locals. However while debating on this point with a friend I realized that by keeping this view, I was really distinguishing between "locals" and "outsiders". When we talk about India as one country it is incorrect to distinguish between locals and outsiders. If we support this view then we will have to also support a view which says that 80% jobs in Girgaon should be reserved for people staying in Girgaon and people staying in Dombivali should not have claim on those jobs. The basic question is why do we consider Biharis and UPites to be different from Marathis. Why cant we look at all of us as Indians ?

Second question is are these communities attacking Marathi culture ? Before we look at this question lets understand What is Culture ? What are the things that characterize a culture ? Is it language ? The Marathi language used by Shivaji Maharaj was drastically different from Marathi spoken today. If you read some of the letters written by Raja Shivaji (This is how he used to sign them) most of the modern Marathi Speakers would not even understand what is written. Then do we say that Shivaji Maharaj does not represent Marathi culture ? It is said that in after you travel for 8 kms the language changes. Then how can we say that language characterizes the culture. Language is a medium to acquire knowledge. The renowned Marathi Writer V.P.Kale has said that "Odh hi dnyanachi asawi, bhaashechi navhe ..Ingraji hatao peksha mala adnyan hatao he jasta mahatwache watate" (The quest should be for Knowledge not Language, I think removing ignorance is more important than removing language). Marathi language is not going to die as long as there is quality literature like that of P.L.Deshpande, Y.D.Phadke, V.P.Kale, V.S. Khandekar,etc. and poems like those of G.D. Madgulkar, Grace, Suresh Bhat. And if literature cannot save the language then I am sure having boards and number plates in Marathi cannot save the language too.

Is culture characterized by superficial things like Kande Pohe, Pagdi or Feta, Puran Poli. These days we dont keep Shendis, dont wear Janwas (sacred threads) dont regularly do Sandhya. Our eating habits are different from our ancestors but we are still proud to say that we are "Hindus". Similarly, lifestyle of an average maharshtrian has changed. Maharashtrian women no longer wear nauwari saris. Maharashtrian men dont wear pagdi or fetas but still we call ourselves Marathi.

When we meet an "Indian" (who may be of any religion or from any state) in a foreign land, we feel a warm affection towards him, I think this affection is what we call Culture. Culture is a bridge that brings people closer. Culture is thinking of India as one country and to be tolerant towards people with different rituals and different life style.

Thinking of India as One Country has been exemplified by Maharashtra in history. When Marathas fought a war in Panipat against Ahmedshah Abdali, they were representing India not Maharashtra. When Tatya Tope, Nanasaheb Peshwa, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi revolted against British in 1857 they were fighting for India not Maharashtra. Lokmanya Tilak's editorials after Partition of Bengal gave him 6 years of severe imprisonment but also made him "Bade Dada" of Bengalis. When Babasaheb Ambedkar fought for the rights of Dalits, he didnt restrict his struggle to Maharashtra. Rajguru happily died for India with Bhagat Singh and Sukhdeo. Swatantryavir Savarkar, S.A.Dange, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale, Kishori Amonkar,Pt.Bhimsen Joshi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad, Vijay Tendulkar, Kusumagraj, Dhondo Keshaw Karve, Raghunath Karve, Dr. Jayant Naralikar, Wrangler Paranjape, Dr. Mashelkar, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, P.L.Deshpande, Nanaji Deshmukh, Nirmala Deshpande, Baba Amte ................ the list just goes on ... (I dont intend to separate out people like JRD Tata, Ambani who have non-maharashtrian sirname but am just excluding them to keep the argument simple) So many different people in diverse fields having different views epitomize the Marathi Culture.

Legacy of Maharashtra and Marathis in diverse fields like Art, Literature, Social Causes, Politics is immense. But the common thread is that all these people have thought of India as one country and didnt restrict themselves to Maharashtra. I think that is what represents Marathi Culture. If Marathi culture is under attack it is not from people from other states (so called outsiders) but from people like Raj Thackeray who have a narrow mindset and who are breaking this historical tradition of Maharashtra.

I think Culture is like "Khayal" in Indian Classical Music. An artist is expected to develop an individual style one that is demonstrably connected to the tradition, and those performers who restrict themselves to mere imitation of their preceptors or of other famous musical personalities are firmly criticized for a lack of imagination. Similary those who just copy the superficialities of lifestyle and call it as culture do not really represent the culture. (Thought of using "Khayal" in this way seems to be liked by many readers. But it is not my original thought. It was used by Gandhi in talking about how he is continuing Lokmanya Tilaks Politics)

Another argument is "Look at how people from Tamil Nadu or Bengal are "intolerant" to other languages, Shouldnt We be equally strong about Marathi and intolerant to languages other than Marathi". I havent traveled to Bengal or Tamil Nadu so I dont have first hand experience of their intolerance. The Tamilians and Bengalis whom I have personally met are compassionate and probably more tolerant than I am. But even if we assume that there is such intolerance in those states, it should be viewed as weakness of those states and that culture. We should not be blind because someone else is blind.

So what about the Marathi Youth who is in the center of the debate. I think Marathi Youth is more educated unlike the Bihari/ UP Youth. If they want to compete with bhaiyyas (original meaning intended not derogatory), they have a natural advantage as they have stayed here for a long time, they know adjoining areas more, they know the market place better than north indian youth. If there is a regional lobbying in any sector, get organized and break the lobby (You dont need to break anyones bones for that). Develop new skills, make yourself competitive and no one will be able to take your jobs away.

What about the cities like Mumbai which are subjected to the influx? There is a need to organize the influx. The problem with the city is not the influx but infrastructure. Developing the infrastructure to meet the amount of people in Mumbai is a challenge but it is definitely not impossible and only the skills of Marathis wont be sufficient to build that kind of infrastruture. Marathis will have to work with people like Sreedharan (Konkan Railway, Delhi Metro) for planning and execution, people from probably Gujarat for Investment, People from North for Manpower.

I hope Marathis would take up this challenge and make the state a real "Maha-Rashtra" (The Great Rashtra).