Just now I was watching Zee Marathi Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. 3 Finalists were singing in the grand event at Gateway. Do u know their names?? Dhangar, Chellam and Saxena. :-)
Isn't it odd to have such names in Marathi show's final?
Yes, that is truth. Inconvenient truth which is conveniently overlooked.
Mumbai recently won Ranji trophy for 39th time. But, 3 players were representing national team at that time. Names: Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Zaheer Khan. And who won the trophy for us? Captain Wasim Jaffar. And it was team performance of Agarkar, Salvi, Kulkarni, Abdulla and Nair which made it possible.
But, is this recent trend? Let's look at some history. Recently a party has taken strong stand against North Indians because it is projected that North Indians take due credit of locals. Who are locals? Just Marathi Manoos?? If yes, then what happened to those who came here in 1960s, because of which another strong local party was established since then. Will the south Indians be treated as locals now? They are here for more than 40 yrs now.
And what happened in 1960? Maharashtra state was created along with Mumbai. But there was dispute about which state shall have Mumbai. Gujrath or Maharashtra. If there was this dispute then I presume Gujrathis are staying in Mumbai right since then. So are they Mumbaikars?
Now let's take a long backward lap. There use to be Pentagular cricket tournaments (Pancharangi) in Mumbai in 1920s. Which were the team? Bombay Gymkhana (Europeans use to play under this team), Parsi Gymkhana, Hindu Gymkhana, Mohammedan Gymkhana, The Rests. Buddhist, Jews and Indian Christians used to play under "The Rests". I don't even want to count the number of years these communities staying in Mumbai. But do they fit in political definition of "Mumbaikar" ?
It is very much clear that Mumbai has always been mix culture city. Then why can't we simplify this? Whether its Marathi/North Indian/South Indian or anybody else, those who stay here in legal shelter and use Mumbai infrastructure resources legally shall be treated as Mumbaikars, And those if anyone is not fitting in this then he is not Mumbaikar (even if he/she is Marathi).
So? Are you Mumbaikar?
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hmmm nice post.. coming from the hadacha mumbaikar :) the debate on this issue is endless but i agree wid ur idea of defining 'mumbaikar'... sadly it doesnt help the vote bank politics much so will never be implemented...
ReplyDeleteI truly agree with your definition of a Mumbaikar but credit is due to all those locals( max Marathi people)who for years have adjusted to influx of people from other states. They deserve it because its not the same when it comes to other cities in India e.g Calcutta where there s no local support to outsiders or for that matter Chennai as well. A cosmopolitan culture cannot thrive without the support of locals.But with time, people who have settled in
ReplyDeleteMumbai(so called outsiders) have forgotten this
and few NI leaders have gone to the extent of saying that Mumbai s made by UP, Biharis. I feel the issue has digressed from where it all began i.e. the flow of people in Mumbai, which s a major hindrance for Mumbai to become Shanghai.
At last the question remains...people from all over the country come to Mumbai then y only NI are targeted? I do not see any voice raising against speaking Marathi except for??..there are genuine arguments from both sides...so as your blog says..maaze maat.
P.S : I support no political party.
Hmm Saheb, another good and thoughtful post as usual. I have written some stuff on it too over at mine. Do leave your views.
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