There is a sad irony in the fact that even as so many Indian politicians are happy to criticise racism in Australia, so few are willing to slam regionalism in India. So, we must applaud the courage of the few who do. From Mukesh Ambani to Rahul Gandhi, several thinking people have criticised the “Mumbai for Mumbaikar” chauvinism of the Shiv Sena. If these voices had been raised even earlier, the situation may not have come to this pass. Mr Ambani, of course, deserves to be congratulated because not too many high-profile Indians — Shah Rukh Khan being the other in this category in recent weeks — think it is worth their while to get into matters that don’t affect them directly but impact ordinary Indians. Indeed, given that even the ruling Congress party thought nothing of falling in line with the Shiv Sena’s position, till Mr Gandhi raised his voice, Mr Ambani’s statement was all the more welcome, being the first important voice to be heard. It is a sign of the clout he commands that, while the Shiv Sena was quick to react to Shah Rukh Khan’s statement on the fact that no Pakistani players were bought by IPL teams, the same didn’t happen as far as Mr Ambani is concerned. While Mr Gandhi deserves to be cheered, one cannot ignore the fact that his criticism of Mumbaikar chauvinism was not heard as clearly before the elections in Maharashtra and was voiced only in Bihar, with Biharis feeling vulnerable as they prepare for an election. This is a measure of the cynicism that has come to shape party political doublespeak on such matters.
But while rushing to condemn the Sena and the Congress party, and to congratulate the RSS-BJP for the line they have taken on the matter, it has to be recognised that protectionism is a natural reaction of all threatened societies/groups of people. If you think the Shiv Sena has a monopoly over such sentiments, just listen to US President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address and his decision to stop tax breaks to firms that outsourced work to India. When there is little employment available, such a backlash is inevitable. What does a state like Maharashtra do when it finds its citizens losing out to immigrants? Also keep in mind that, in the next few decades, the largest population increases will occur in places like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and, given the lower income levels and job opportunities in these areas, the pressure of migration in places like Maharashtra will only increase. This is a wake-up call for India’s political class and those engaged in thinking about the country’s future. Merely aligning with or against the Shiv Sena is not the solution. This involves serious rethinking about employment and educational opportunities, and the pressure on people to migrate in search of better options or just livelihood security. Blind “sons of the soil” employment policies hurt the poorest of the poor and divide the nation. It is time India’s national parties stood up to be counted in defence of national identity and against the politics of casteism, communalism and regionalism.
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Shiv Sena risks isolating itself!
Analysts say the BJP, which is preparing for the forthcoming assembly election in Bihar, is considering a break from its state allies in order to protect its support base and maintain its national party character
New Delhi: Maharashtra’s main opposition party, the Shiv Sena, appears to have risked isolating itself by antagonizing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its ally of at least two decades, as it escalates its rhetoric against north Indians and takes on the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Mukesh Ambani.
The BJP, which is preparing for the forthcoming assembly election in politically crucial Bihar, is considering a break from its state allies in order to protect its support base and maintain its national party character, say analysts.
The Shiv Sena, founded by Bal Thackeray and currently led by son Uddhav Thackeray, has been forced to take an extreme position because of its frustration with the loss of vote share to breakaway group, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which is headed by Raj Thackeray, nephew to the older Thackeray.
Film star and team owner Khan has been targeted for his comments that he regretted the omission of Pakistani cricketers from the Indian Premier League. Others facing the party’s ire include Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat for criticising the Shiv Sena’s stance against north Indians.
With the aim of consolidating votes among ethnic Maharashtrians, the Shiv Sena and MNS have been waging a campaign against north Indians, especially those from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, accusing them of taking away jobs from locals.
In the 13 October assembly election, the MNS won 12 seats, mainly in the Mumbai-Thane region, a traditional Shiv Sena stronghold. The Shiv Sena’s vote share has come down from 19.97% in 2004 to 16.26% in 2009, as the MNS got 5.7% of the votes.
Mumbai-based psephologist and political analyst Jai Mrug says the tirade by the Shiv Sena is a survival tactic.
“They are trying to reinforce their brand. The Shiv Sena and the MNS are competing for the same space—Marathi pride,” Mrug said. “The Shiv Sena needs to reinforce itself as a brand and it has to make value statements very often, reminding the people about it.”
Read more HERE
What an Irony !
Reality check: Sena-run BMC shut 27 Marathi schools!
While the Shiv Sena drums up a feverish pitch on its Mumbai-for-Maharashtrians campaign and aggressively pushes the cause of Marathi, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ruled by the party is struggling to run Marathi-medium schools in the financial capital and ended up closing 27 such schools last year.
Reason: there are not enough students to sustain these schools.
On the other hand, the country’s richest civic body is witnessing a steady rise in the number of students wanting to study in its Hindi medium and English medium civic schools or go to private schools.
Officials said this was a reflection of the demographics and cultural aspirations of even the city’s not-so-well-off classes who generally send their children to civic schools.
BMC schools cater to about 4.4 lakh students of the total estimated 16 lakh in Mumbai who study in classes one to 10. Data accessed by The Indian Express showed that the number of Marathi-medium BMC schools fell to 407 last year from 434 in 2008, the number of students in these schools fell by nearly 20 percent to 107,413 in 2009 from 132,725 in 2008.
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SRK: (Very) Little help from his friends!
For the premieres of films like Paa, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh, Amitabh have brought their combined star power to the red carpet. At a recent awards show for Bollywood, Shah Rukh did a dance from Paa with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan on stage, fighting whispers that the Bachchan-Khan rivalry is one of Bollywood's worst-kept secrets.
But now that a different sort of spotlight is on Shah Rukh Khan, he's being forced to get by with very little help from his friends.
As cinema owners receive warning letters from the Shiv Sena asking them not to screen Khan's forthcoming release, virtually every big actor, producer and director is silent.
No comment issued so far by Salman Khan, Aamir Khan or Akshay Kumar; even the usually-outspoken Preity Zinta has not volunteered any public support.
On Twitter, a handful of voices, including Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra have said they stand by Shah Rukh and Karan Johar, the director of My Name is Khan.
And in the midst of the crisis, Amitabh Bachchan blogged lavish praise for Bal Thackeray, sharing that he is planning a special screening of Rann for him.
In London, Shah Rukh said he will not compromise on his values by apologizing to the Shiv Sena for saying that Pakistani players should participate in the next season of the Indian Premiere League (IPL). ''Can someone tell me what I said was wrong? I have apologised to people in the past but will someone tell me what I said was wrong. I am sad.''
In the past as well, Bollywood has been a Lonely Planet for people caught in political controversies. Nobody spoke for Aamir Khan when his Fanaa was blockaded by the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat. Preity Zinta took girl power to a whole new level when she became the only person to testify in court about the underworld's role in Bollywood. Deepa Mehta fought along for her Water when its shooting was disrupted by saffron parties.
Jaya Bachchan points out that when she was attacked by Raj Thavkeray in 2008 for choosing to speak in Hindi at a public function, it was only her family who stood by her.
The point is lost on nobody: there is business worth crores at stake, so taking on the Sena has to be the job of a Lone Ranger.
And to avoid losses, or controversies, Bollywood has repeatedly sought political patronage from the Sena, vetting the party's status as an extra-constitutional authority. It may be cowardly, but it has worked. Amitabh Bachchan's Sarkaar, loosely based on the lives of the Thackerays, was released without a hitch.
Read more HERE.
Victims Like Us !
Something is wrong. Something is seriously wrong. The Shiv Sena has taken an unhealthy and parochial stand once more, demanding an apology from Shah Rukh Khan over his statement supporting the inclusion of Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League. The victim is My Name Is Khan, whose release will face stiff resistance in Mumbai. Why, one may ask. Well, there is no answer, accustomed as we all are to the Sena's gimmicky and partisan political posturing so often. Such is the nature of the party's politics that it needs an enemy - as often as possible - to make itself heard. Minus a concrete agenda the moment the party is stripped off its communal paraphernalia, the Sena needs excuses to let the world know what being a 'party with a difference' is all about. They preach the ideology of fear without which they would not exist.
Having said that, it seems really bizarre when a work of art - in this case, a movie - gets into trouble because of the party's absurdly destructive attitude. The film, after all, is a project in which film-maker Karan Johar has tried to take a creative step forward. And, Johar does not own an IPL team. More importantly, SRK, as the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, has every right to voice his freedom of expression. If Pakistani players are talented, and the world knows they are, why should anybody target him and his movie if he supports their inclusion in the IPL? Absurdity has no explanation. But, it is infinitely better as and when anything that is meaningless makes us laugh. The problem begins when a section of the society takes a random stance to generate an attention-seeking uproar. Such an approach is absurd too, but the consequence can be saddening. For, here we are, inhabiting a 21st century India which is growing up rapidly, and whose thinking seems to have changed as well. A lot of what we experience seems fine until the unleashing of a primitive thought process hurts us. The idea behind such terrible actions is to create trouble and display political clout. But, God knows we don't need them. Just ask SRK, or other victims like him.
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(Thanks to Minnie for the link)
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