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| Feb 06, 2008 12:58 pm |
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re: re: re: re: re: re: Aamchi Mumbai |
Ashish Gorde
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I've been a lurker on this board and have rarely posted anything, but this thread pulled me out of my lethargy.
As a bona fide Maharashtrian... alright some may disagree with the bona fide bit because I've hardly lived in Maharashtra in all my 40-plus years... and yet, somehow, I feel the need to say something here. Marathi is my mother tongue but I'm not very fluent in the language because I didn't grow up in a Maharashtrian milieu... not sure if parents and family friends count but I guess not.
Do you know where I'm going with this?
I know what it is to be an 'outsider'. I'm used to that kind of an 'outsider' identity for as long as I remember. And to me, Maharashtra and Marathi-ness is part of my cultural, linguistic and ethnic heritage... something to be proud of not because it is the 'best' in the world but because I can claim a sense of belonging to it..
Now I read that Raj Thackerey and his goons have beaten up couple of North Indians in Mumbai because they are 'outsiders' in the city. I watched NDTV and saw this man ranting that non-Maharashtrians would need to take permission before entering the city or state. Interesting solution to the 'problem', I thought. I mean, at the core, that rant sounded almost like a separatist sentiment? Do Indians need to take permission before visiting other parts of the country? Does he want Mumbai/ Maharashtra only for Marathis and the rest may go to hell, for all he cares... even if they are productive and useful?
Now think about people like me who are Maharashtrians who have hardly lived in Maharashtra... is this the type of goonda culture that we can claim to be part of our own? Is this something to make us proud that a fellow-Maharashtrian sent his goons to beat poor people up? Are we going to say, yes, we dont welcome 'outsiders' we just beat them up?
I dont care if those taxi-drivers didnt have permits and were driving illegally. All I see are a bunch of poor people trying to make ends meet, and I have seen many poor Indians here in the Gulf doing something similar. Imagine if the locals decide to do the Raj-Thackerey treatment on all the Indians here (Maharashtrians included)... will this Raj-bhau get off his horse and come to our rescue here? Or is he going to say, let those Indians in the Gulf just rot for taking jobs from the Gulf locals? Will he take the side of the ones attacking us?
I guess, people like the Thackereys really dont care about the larger picture... and the sad thing is, in all of this nonsense, the Union of India suffers. And if you ask me, I dont give a rat's ass if Maharashtrian pride is hurt if it's at the expense of India's integrity. Marathi manoos can take care of himself but if he can't see himself as an Indian, then let him go and take a hike.
Regards,
Ashish Private Reply to Ashish Gorde (new win) |
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