About Biharis, Marathis and Indians..
I am an Indian, who deeply believes in the holistic Vedic culture of India, of which we all are inheritors and who is also proud of his mother tongue – Marathi. Thus, the recent fight between Marathis and north Indians (from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) is really saddening for a patriotic person. So allow me in my attempt to discuss a golden middle path, in which all Indians contribute and avoid further violence. What is applicable to Maharashtra, will also be valid for any other state that may face a similar problem in future. 
Some time back, just before the most recent beastly acts of terrorism at the Taj, Oberoi, CST and Nariman House by Pakistani terrorists, there had been a different kind of tension in Mumbai, Thane and a couple of other places in Maharashtra. This started with the renewed Marathi versus north Indian argument, following unrest by Raj Thackarey's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The immediate trigger was the railway recruitment exam that was conducted in Maharashtra for vacancies in the state, but primarily advertised in northern cities. The subsequent events of beating up of several north Indian candidates, arrest (and release) of Raj Thackarey, the unfortunate killing of a Bihari youth in a suburban train and damage done to a couple of shops of north Indians in Mumbai, led to a backlash against the small Marathi minority in several places in northern India. A senior employee of Tata Motors in Jamshedpur, a lady IAS officer in Purnea and Maharashtra Sadan building in Delhi bore the brunt with damage to property. A Marathi family in Haryana was also threatened.
The entire chain of events was extremely undesirable, especially when more serious threat
s like terrorism, foreign infiltrators, aggressive religious evangelism, pollution, agricultural crisis and economic crisis loom large. There is a school of thought that blames Raj Thackarey's politics (allegedly encouraged by certain elements in another political party) and another that blames the hordes of north Indians that pour into Maharashtra daily, due to the politics of non-development in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the prolonged tenures of Samajvadi Party and Lalu Prasad Yadav. But beyond this blame game, a true Indian interested in giving a workable solution, should delve deeper into the issue. This article attempts to do the same.
About local people losing their identity and jobs:
Let us take various issues one by one. Firstly, let us discuss the issue of Marathis losing their identity and job opportunities in Maharashtra due to influx of people from other states. We discuss this issue first, because that is what reignited the entire unrest recently. For a long time Maharashtra has been on the forefront of industrial development and hence attracting hordes of employment seekers from across India (although in recent years, others like Gujarat and Karnataka have also been attracting people).
The first influx came into Maharashtra from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. But by and large, they got assimilated into the local population and as these states started developing, this influx tapered off. The second major wave came from Tamil Nadu and Kerala and for some time there was resentment against them by Shiv Sena, since some part of the employment pie was going to them. But as development reached these states, that flow also reduced. The most recent phenomenon of influx from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for the past 20 years, continues till date. As a result the population of people from these two states alone, now residing in Maharashtra has crossed 50 lakh.
With such a large population settled from other states, primarily in the urban centres of Mumbai, Thane, Panvel, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and Nagpur, the language of communication in public in many cases turns out to be Hindi. Thus, Marathi slowly starts taking a back seat. But here one has to look from both sides. While, one can decently expect that those who come into the state with the intention of staying for a long-term (in most cases forever) should pick up the local language and culture in due course, this does not happen in most cases. At the same time, the other major cause of Marathi's decline rests with the Marathis themselves. What prevents the 8 crore strong Marathis in Maharashtra to continue talking in Marathi in public places? I don't imply Hindi-hating when I say this. When others realise that it makes sense to know the language spoken by such a large chunk, they are most likely to learn it, as has happened in case of migrants to Kolkata or Chennai.
Let us take a celebrated example to discuss the issue a bit further. Bollywood, based in Mumbai, churns out Hindi movies with strong financial muscle and it is a truth that the Marathi film industry got side-tracked in the process. While, nobody has any complaints against Hindi movies (in fact Marathis constitute a very large section of Hindi film audiences in the country), what prevents the producers, directors and distributors of Hindi films into seriously churning out good Marathi movies, when an audience exists? At the same time, what prevented the enterprising and creative people among Marathis from making good Marathi movies in large numbers all these years? Distribution has been a problem for a long time too, which should be addressed by government legislation, if the established lobby does not pay heed. Fortunately, both production and distribution of Marathi movies is seeing better days of late.
Finally, let us discuss the issue of employment in Maharashtra going away to non-Marathis. While, it should be acknowledged that a large number of businesses established by non-Marathis have ended up employing Marathis (among others) in large numbers, issues like giving preference to north Indians for Central Government vacancies in Maharashtra, is something which is truly unfair and should be immediately rectified. Maharashtra has been accommodating enough to its fellow citizens from other states. But that does not mean that locals should be deprived of jobs.
Let us take the example of an Indian joint family. How can one feed nieces and nephews, when one's sons and daughters are hungry? Well, sons and daughters should be fed first and then help should be extended to arrange for long-term food to nieces and nephews in their respective homes. A satisfied joint family is the one that can survive and not the one where space of some is continuously invaded upon by others. If some rooms in the joint family are left unclean and unhealthy, it makes sense to clean those rooms, rather than cramming everybody in the few clean rooms.
About the plight of migrants and need for a golden middle path:
Secondly, we come to the question of what compels people of UP and Bihar to migrate to other states in such large numbers? Clearly, severe under-development on the social and economic fronts in these extremely fertile states of India, are the two most important drivers of mass migrations. Otherwise, why will anybody leave a fertile land of the Gangetic plain and migrate to a not so fertile Deccan plateau? With no industry, and agriculture in rural areas controlled by a small part of the population, landless people find it much more feasible to migrate to places where there is far more equality in terms of economic and social issues. Thus, people from UP and Bihar have been migrating to regions like Delhi, Punjab, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat and Karnataka, although the biggest migration has been to Maharashtra. And just like Maharashtra, there has been resentment in most of these places against these unfortunate economic refugees, which often even becomes fatally violent in Assam and other north-eastern states. While, we cannot endorse violence in any form, we cannot also ignore the warning bells ringing in so many states.
So, the crux is to develop Bihar and UP. By the way, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (both part of the so-called BiMaRU states), already seem to have got their act together and we do not see such mass migrations from these states. With the change of power in Bihar, one can look forward to concrete steps there too, which will ultimately reduce and stop the mass migration from there too, in the coming decade. Interestingly, the BJP now rules MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka and these are some of the major states from which people used to migrate to Maharashtra in the past. What they have achieved in these states, hopefully they will be able to achieve in Bihar too. Interestingly, the BJP, if it comes to power in Maharashtra and the Centre in coming elections, has a golden opportunity to have tripartite talks and amicably solve the Marathi-Bihari problem with concrete solutions, without appeasing anybody!
In a nutshell....
In order to slowly tackle the vexed issue of locals versus migrants amicably, that plagues not just Maharashtra, but several other states like Punjab, Karnataka and Assam, patriotic Indians may consider the following suggestions, put in a nutshell. I am sure the knowledgeable and veteran policy makers in several areas have already thought about (and in some cases implemented) this. But here is my humble way of putting it forward, for those who have not thought of this.
- All people migrating to other states for long-term should make it a point to learn the local language and respect the local culture.
- All Indians should also learn Hindi – the national link language – which will keep open the channels of communication between communities.
- All schools in the country should compulsorily teach Hindi and the regional language from 5th standard.
- State governments should take initiatives to integrate migrant communities into the cultural mainstream of the state, even as they are allowed to maintain their respective cultures.
- State governments of UP and Bihar, with help from the Centre and guidance from the developed states, should seriously implement development, make agriculture sustainable and bring about social equality.
- Indians should slowly start appreciating Sanskrut as the cultural link that binds us all to the core and from which all our languages have borrowed to various extents.
- India should gradually shift towards a more local model of development, where small regional hubs of activity are created, in line with our ancient Vedic model (also advocated by Mahatma Gandhi and Deendayal Upadhyay), instead of a few unmanageable massive cities. The idea is to Think Global/National, But Act Local. While, economic and social interactions between various regions should increase, there should not be excessive dependence and unfair competition that breeds contempt. Even two brothers start fighting in such a situation.
We, as Indians, can and should co-exist..
Intrinsically Indians with their deep-rooted Vedic culture are known to co-exist peacefully for centuries, something that Europeans could not achieve in their lands. We all Indians are bound together by the common thread of the Vedic culture believing in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Live & Let Live. We who serve as guiding lights to the world for peace, are best placed to resolve our internal differences and we shall prove it. We need to know that although the Kauravas and Pandavas fought amongst themselves, the prudent Pandavas rightly believed in “Vayam Panchadhikam Shatam” (We are 5 plus 100, when it comes to fighting a common enemy). And the time has come for all of us to behave like Pandavas, because we all face the common enemies mentioned earlier in this article. If we do not co-exist practically, we will cease to exist. Jai Hind.
Some time back, just before the most recent beastly acts of terrorism at the Taj, Oberoi, CST and Nariman House by Pakistani terrorists, there had been a different kind of tension in Mumbai, Thane and a couple of other places in Maharashtra. This started with the renewed Marathi versus north Indian argument, following unrest by Raj Thackarey's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The immediate trigger was the railway recruitment exam that was conducted in Maharashtra for vacancies in the state, but primarily advertised in northern cities. The subsequent events of beating up of several north Indian candidates, arrest (and release) of Raj Thackarey, the unfortunate killing of a Bihari youth in a suburban train and damage done to a couple of shops of north Indians in Mumbai, led to a backlash against the small Marathi minority in several places in northern India. A senior employee of Tata Motors in Jamshedpur, a lady IAS officer in Purnea and Maharashtra Sadan building in Delhi bore the brunt with damage to property. A Marathi family in Haryana was also threatened.
The entire chain of events was extremely undesirable, especially when more serious threat
s like terrorism, foreign infiltrators, aggressive religious evangelism, pollution, agricultural crisis and economic crisis loom large. There is a school of thought that blames Raj Thackarey's politics (allegedly encouraged by certain elements in another political party) and another that blames the hordes of north Indians that pour into Maharashtra daily, due to the politics of non-development in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the prolonged tenures of Samajvadi Party and Lalu Prasad Yadav. But beyond this blame game, a true Indian interested in giving a workable solution, should delve deeper into the issue. This article attempts to do the same.About local people losing their identity and jobs:
Let us take various issues one by one. Firstly, let us discuss the issue of Marathis losing their identity and job opportunities in Maharashtra due to influx of people from other states. We discuss this issue first, because that is what reignited the entire unrest recently. For a long time Maharashtra has been on the forefront of industrial development and hence attracting hordes of employment seekers from across India (although in recent years, others like Gujarat and Karnataka have also been attracting people).
The first influx came into Maharashtra from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. But by and large, they got assimilated into the local population and as these states started developing, this influx tapered off. The second major wave came from Tamil Nadu and Kerala and for some time there was resentment against them by Shiv Sena, since some part of the employment pie was going to them. But as development reached these states, that flow also reduced. The most recent phenomenon of influx from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for the past 20 years, continues till date. As a result the population of people from these two states alone, now residing in Maharashtra has crossed 50 lakh.
With such a large population settled from other states, primarily in the urban centres of Mumbai, Thane, Panvel, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and Nagpur, the language of communication in public in many cases turns out to be Hindi. Thus, Marathi slowly starts taking a back seat. But here one has to look from both sides. While, one can decently expect that those who come into the state with the intention of staying for a long-term (in most cases forever) should pick up the local language and culture in due course, this does not happen in most cases. At the same time, the other major cause of Marathi's decline rests with the Marathis themselves. What prevents the 8 crore strong Marathis in Maharashtra to continue talking in Marathi in public places? I don't imply Hindi-hating when I say this. When others realise that it makes sense to know the language spoken by such a large chunk, they are most likely to learn it, as has happened in case of migrants to Kolkata or Chennai.
Let us take a celebrated example to discuss the issue a bit further. Bollywood, based in Mumbai, churns out Hindi movies with strong financial muscle and it is a truth that the Marathi film industry got side-tracked in the process. While, nobody has any complaints against Hindi movies (in fact Marathis constitute a very large section of Hindi film audiences in the country), what prevents the producers, directors and distributors of Hindi films into seriously churning out good Marathi movies, when an audience exists? At the same time, what prevented the enterprising and creative people among Marathis from making good Marathi movies in large numbers all these years? Distribution has been a problem for a long time too, which should be addressed by government legislation, if the established lobby does not pay heed. Fortunately, both production and distribution of Marathi movies is seeing better days of late.
Finally, let us discuss the issue of employment in Maharashtra going away to non-Marathis. While, it should be acknowledged that a large number of businesses established by non-Marathis have ended up employing Marathis (among others) in large numbers, issues like giving preference to north Indians for Central Government vacancies in Maharashtra, is something which is truly unfair and should be immediately rectified. Maharashtra has been accommodating enough to its fellow citizens from other states. But that does not mean that locals should be deprived of jobs.
Let us take the example of an Indian joint family. How can one feed nieces and nephews, when one's sons and daughters are hungry? Well, sons and daughters should be fed first and then help should be extended to arrange for long-term food to nieces and nephews in their respective homes. A satisfied joint family is the one that can survive and not the one where space of some is continuously invaded upon by others. If some rooms in the joint family are left unclean and unhealthy, it makes sense to clean those rooms, rather than cramming everybody in the few clean rooms.
About the plight of migrants and need for a golden middle path:
Secondly, we come to the question of what compels people of UP and Bihar to migrate to other states in such large numbers? Clearly, severe under-development on the social and economic fronts in these extremely fertile states of India, are the two most important drivers of mass migrations. Otherwise, why will anybody leave a fertile land of the Gangetic plain and migrate to a not so fertile Deccan plateau? With no industry, and agriculture in rural areas controlled by a small part of the population, landless people find it much more feasible to migrate to places where there is far more equality in terms of economic and social issues. Thus, people from UP and Bihar have been migrating to regions like Delhi, Punjab, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat and Karnataka, although the biggest migration has been to Maharashtra. And just like Maharashtra, there has been resentment in most of these places against these unfortunate economic refugees, which often even becomes fatally violent in Assam and other north-eastern states. While, we cannot endorse violence in any form, we cannot also ignore the warning bells ringing in so many states.
So, the crux is to develop Bihar and UP. By the way, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (both part of the so-called BiMaRU states), already seem to have got their act together and we do not see such mass migrations from these states. With the change of power in Bihar, one can look forward to concrete steps there too, which will ultimately reduce and stop the mass migration from there too, in the coming decade. Interestingly, the BJP now rules MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka and these are some of the major states from which people used to migrate to Maharashtra in the past. What they have achieved in these states, hopefully they will be able to achieve in Bihar too. Interestingly, the BJP, if it comes to power in Maharashtra and the Centre in coming elections, has a golden opportunity to have tripartite talks and amicably solve the Marathi-Bihari problem with concrete solutions, without appeasing anybody!
In a nutshell....
In order to slowly tackle the vexed issue of locals versus migrants amicably, that plagues not just Maharashtra, but several other states like Punjab, Karnataka and Assam, patriotic Indians may consider the following suggestions, put in a nutshell. I am sure the knowledgeable and veteran policy makers in several areas have already thought about (and in some cases implemented) this. But here is my humble way of putting it forward, for those who have not thought of this.
- All people migrating to other states for long-term should make it a point to learn the local language and respect the local culture.
- All Indians should also learn Hindi – the national link language – which will keep open the channels of communication between communities.
- All schools in the country should compulsorily teach Hindi and the regional language from 5th standard.
- State governments should take initiatives to integrate migrant communities into the cultural mainstream of the state, even as they are allowed to maintain their respective cultures.
- State governments of UP and Bihar, with help from the Centre and guidance from the developed states, should seriously implement development, make agriculture sustainable and bring about social equality.
- Indians should slowly start appreciating Sanskrut as the cultural link that binds us all to the core and from which all our languages have borrowed to various extents.
- India should gradually shift towards a more local model of development, where small regional hubs of activity are created, in line with our ancient Vedic model (also advocated by Mahatma Gandhi and Deendayal Upadhyay), instead of a few unmanageable massive cities. The idea is to Think Global/National, But Act Local. While, economic and social interactions between various regions should increase, there should not be excessive dependence and unfair competition that breeds contempt. Even two brothers start fighting in such a situation.
We, as Indians, can and should co-exist..
Intrinsically Indians with their deep-rooted Vedic culture are known to co-exist peacefully for centuries, something that Europeans could not achieve in their lands. We all Indians are bound together by the common thread of the Vedic culture believing in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Live & Let Live. We who serve as guiding lights to the world for peace, are best placed to resolve our internal differences and we shall prove it. We need to know that although the Kauravas and Pandavas fought amongst themselves, the prudent Pandavas rightly believed in “Vayam Panchadhikam Shatam” (We are 5 plus 100, when it comes to fighting a common enemy). And the time has come for all of us to behave like Pandavas, because we all face the common enemies mentioned earlier in this article. If we do not co-exist practically, we will cease to exist. Jai Hind.
-- Atul Sathe © (This article is under copyright and the author can be contacted on atulsathe@yahoo.com )
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