From the bylanes of Erandwane and Kothrud:
Raju and his men got really vilolent this October, certainly more violent than they have ever gotten in the past. They’ve been doing these things for the last two years atleast. But that’s not the point.
Let’s attemp to see through the smoke on this one. Like any upcoming politician, Raju is hungry for power and by espousing this ‘migrant’ issue he’s stepped over the line in a populist dive for the votes. He’s got an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Although the MNS is doing some good work in other avenues – they’re supposed to have a relatively progressive environmental policy and they are the first political party in the state to start documenting information about Maharashtra and her people as well as training their party workers and politicians through the Maharashtra Navnirman Akademi.
The truth is this: Marathi people have an aversion to UP and espescially Bihari young men. This is not new. It’s prevailed in Pune for the last five years if not more. My eyes and ears have borne testimony.
This whole issue is not about jobs at any level. It’s never been about jobs. Marathis, by their own admission are not very competent labourers and have hence started hiring better labour from other states. For years now, construction and road labour in Pune has been brought in from North Karnataka, Telanga and Rayalaseema.
The only reason Raju and his men are shouting about local jobs going the way of migrants is because they need a tangible issue to create a ruckus about. You can’t make a fuss about outsiders coming in and diluting your culture with theirs, can you? Actually, you could, but nobody would really care. Therefore, ‘JOBS!’
Now, why is there a prevailing sense of hatred/dislike towards UP-wallahs, Biharis and other North indians? Is there a reason for this mindset? I am friends with many UP-Bihari and other North Indian chaps residing in Pune. I know that all UP-Bihari youth are not bad. In fact many of them are really nice people. But the hard truth is that they have a reputuation that preceeds them solely because of the actions of their predecessors and fellow statesmen. I’ve seen gangs of Bihari youth fighting with Bastiwallahs and similar incidents.
Many of my North Indian friends have been declined a place to stay because they’re from Allahabad, Patna, Ranchi, etc. Think about why landlords have been making life difficult for the UP-Bihari student/working bachelors. It can’t be without reason (previous experiences). Or can it? Typical Brahminical Puneri thinking doesn’t like the ‘brash and crude’ behavioural tendencies of the UP-Bihari youth. As a friend recently put it, it’s the ‘Prabhat Roadian mindset‘. He was referring to the liberal elite in the city who are very wary of UP-Bihari youth and hold unreasonable biases against them.
Here’s some more truth: Outsiders (Northies, Southies, Easties – nearly everyone) don’t like the Maharashtrians too much for some reason. Some even hate them. They hate their language and they call them Gh**tis.
Raju needed a target. He picked the UP-Biharis. And he did this for two reasons: firstly, the Northies were dwindling in their the local popularity; and secondly, many of them were poor and easy to target.
One of my Lucknow friends once said to me (in Hindi), “Why should I make any effort to get to know the local Marathi people? What have I got to do with them? And why the hell should I learn Marathi? I don’t even like the sound of it!” The feeling is mutual and has been that way for sometime now. North Indians who come into Maharashtra, don’t give the local people too much of a chance. The local is ipso facto an imbecile.
The situation is now volatile because the Northies have stopped understanding the Marathis and their culture, and vice versa. Its also due to issues like the Marathi language becoming secondary to the language of the North: Hindi. Marathis like their neighbours in Karnataka have become insecure with the feeling that Marathi is losing out to Hindi. This is true in many ways. For instance, a student who came to study in Pune 25-30 years ago would arguably have learnt more Marathi than a student who has come to Pune today since Hindi is more widely spoken now. The influcence of Bollywood coupled with the notion that Hindi is superior to Marathi clouded the thoughts of many Maharashtrian minds.
It’s an Us v. Them.
The Northies don’t like the Marathis and now the Marathis don’t like the Northies. Raju and his boys are using the occassion to gain some political milage. He’s now a Marathi icon and inside every Maharashtrian there is a small, if not large, connection (read smypathy) with Raju and his politics.
Why there is hatred along regional/cultural lines is a big question indeed. But its not something that is new to India and her people. Right from demands of Dravida Nadu to a separate Assam to the Khalisthan movement, we’ve had bloodshed due to divisions in our society before. It happens whenever we stop adjusting with each other or when we cease to understand and accept people the way they are – with their language, their culture, their food and their music.
It is like what happened with the Hindus and Muslims at the time of Partition. The Hindus didn’t like the Muslims, the Muslims didn’t like the Hindus, there was the demand for a separate state and over a million people died. What a sad story. Let us hope that the Northies and the Marathis start understanding each other, respecting their opposite cultures and making up soon. Perhaps the recent surge of proactive citizens and national unity in the light of the Mumbai attacks will help change things and India can go back to being a secular, free country without any nationalist and regional chauvinism.
God bless our peoples and our country.
- KSN
3 Comments
6 December, 08 at 11:11 pm
Very well written!
For a change, I saw a balanced article.
Yes, the reason north indians are hated everywhere is due to their own behaviour.
They are testing limits of maharashtrians. But it is fault of maharashtrians, that they are not united against the north indians- the way tamils and bengalis are.
19 December, 08 at 8:45 pm
Wow.. i think you’ve misunderstood the article neha! it is balanced, but the the point is NOT to unite the maharashtrians against north indians or for that matter, ANYONE against ANYONE based on their state of origin! on the other hand, this enrty shows how individual incidents can give rise to a communal prejudice which is unfounded and irrational. i am neither north indian nor maharshtrian, and i can think of an equal number of things to like and dislike about both.. or for that matter, like and dislike about anyone from anywhere. tamils and bengalis are mistaken in looking to the interests of their ‘own people’, and its a sorry state of affairs because all over the country, it is often the politicians who fuel this kind of thinking.
so be a maverick. think out of the box and about the real reason why there’s a concept of communal hatred. apart from the fact that it is used for political ends, it makes people feel safe that there is one concrete ‘thing’ that they can blame everything on, whether or not it is actually responsible. any migrant contributes to the place that he or she lives in and like any responsible citizen, ensure that they do not contrbute to public disorder. likewise, the residents of the place should welcome non-locals with trust and friendliness. as an outsider, i know how good it makes me feel to meet someone warm and helpful, and how hurtful it can be to meet someone who is prejudiced against you because you dont speak the local lingo.
so how about we call a truce? its high time.. and we have to begin somehwhere!
23 July, 09 at 3:01 pm
Very well written. I bumped into it very late. I’m a Marathi. Although I do not support the on going hatred movement against people from other communities. If we continue to support this, by our own admission, we should not be making noise about the current racism in Australia.
I’ve faced lot of flak from fellow marathis for criticising the hate emotion. Do have a read on my blog if and when you can