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It is, therefore, distressing that certain local political formations in Maharashtra succumb to the temptation of parochialism every once in a while by projecting non-existent antagonism between ‘natives’ and ‘outsiders’. Invariably, it is Mumbai, India’s first and still the most cosmopolitan city, which bears the brunt of their insularity. In the 1960s, their target was Dakshin Bharatiyas (South Indians). Now, resentment is sought to be whipped up against Uttar Bharatiyas (North Indians).
The notion that any city or part of India belongs only to its ‘natives’ is unconstitutional, repugnant and injurious to the ideal of national unity and integration. From time immemorial, our people have freely moved from one part of the country to another, believing all of India to be their own. As far as Mumbai is concerned, although it is the capital of Maharashtra, people from every corner of the country have migrated to this city of dreams and opportunities since its inception. Mumbai is what it is today because of the contribution of diverse communities inhabiting it. In particular, the two sources of its national and international profile — business and Bollywood — would be unthinkable without a grateful recognition of the role of non-Marathi speaking communities. It would be a great misfortune if Mumbai degenerated into a provincial capital.
Therefore, Raj Thackeray, whose Maharashtra Navanirman Sena has made impressive strides in a short time after breaking away from the Shiv Sena, has done no good either to Maharashtra’s proud reputation, or to himself, by making ill-advised remarks about North Indians in Mumbai or about a national icon like Amitabh Bachchan. He has a promising political future. He would, therefore, do well to win the support of the city’s considerable population of North Indians in his inclusive political strategy, without being apologetic about espousing legitimate Marathi pride.
While one must condemn anything that weakens our unifying Indian identity, it would be hypocritical to turn a blind eye to certain harsh social and political realities of Mumbai. With 1.9 crore residents in the Mumbai Metropolitan Area, which includes Navi Mumbai and Thane, its population has rapidly grown to become greater than the combined population of nine Indian states. Its once-famed infrastructure is highly overstretched, lowering the quality of life for rich and poor alike. It once had the best municipal governance in India; not any more. Fifty-four per cent of its residents live in slums, most of which are so unbelievably congested and squalid that it is criminal on the part of any government to let people live in such inhuman conditions. It is well known to authorities that tens of thousands of Bangladeshis, many with voting rights, are living in Mumbai. Some 20,000 houses in the older part of the city are in a dangerously dilapidated state, the reason why every monsoon one reads about people dying in incidents of house collapse.
Mumbai is decaying. But few politicians in the city, state or country are taking a serious and comprehensive view of its chronic condition, and fewer still are willing to take the tough decisions to set things right. By tough decisions, one does not mean banning ‘outsiders’ — north Indians or Indians from any other part of India — from settling in Mumbai. That certainly is wrong. But is it wrong to hold that encroachments should be stopped, that people must not be allowed to occupy pavements and places earmarked for public utilities, or that the cut-off years for regularisation of slums must be strictly adhered to?
Indeed, some political parties have developed a vested interest in allowing unauthorised settlements to proliferate for vote-bank considerations. When illegal settlements along the lethally polluted Mithi river were sought to be cleared after the July 2005 deluge in Mumbai, which claimed nearly 500 lives, it was stoutly resisted by local politicians who felt threatened that their voter-base would shrink. Mumbaikars know of hundreds of such examples of duplicity and political muscle-flexing.
The question that Raj Thackeray and many people in Mumbai are asking is: How can slum redevelopment and rehabilitation ever succeed if there is political patronage for the creation of new slums? How can Mumbai ever see orderly urban development, with world-class infrastructure and civic amenities for all its residents, if there is deliberate and corruption-induced disorder in the use of its most scarce resource — land? Indeed, which Indian city can grow well if short-term and partisan political interests undermine a long-term and integral vision of urban renewal?
Hence, some of Raj Thackeray’s concerns are right, but he has voiced them wrongly.
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I dont understsand why nationalism is given Hindi color. Please try to understand the facts. locals need jobs , you cannot give all jobs to outsiders 90% jobs should be given to locals
i would like to say to writter, if all northen people will come to mumbai or maharashtra who will remain in north side, obviously lalu, mulayam, amarsing. it is truth. after 60 years from independance UP n bihar are not developed, because northen people are irritated by their politician named above. these people are educated with morals. all world knows the condition of UP n biharis. who is the responsible for this? government? system? they own? or lalu, mulayam, amarsingh? ans is all of them. Marathi man does not want to happen this in Maharashtra. limit is over. this is natural phenamena. all newspapers n channels are saying this is hooliganism. but who is abu azami? he was sentenced for one year about 1993 blast, for helping traitors of the country. to teach the people like azami this is very soft way. maharashtra is holy place. we should maintain it. this is the only a ray of hope to serve the country. maharashtra had given the history to country it will give better future also.
common hit abu again @ again
there is no doubt that purposefuly planned out agenda by goon abu azmi. kick him out of mumbai alongwith all outside leaders who are using their state people as a slave in this state. their states are not developed because of people like madhu koda...and lallu,mulayum and so on.
Raj Thakerey is absolutely wrong just because hi is dividing us in groups, religion, languages we are indian first and then marathi, punjabi, bihari etc we have all the right to speak hindi. He is doing all this just for publicity and for marathi votes, I am shocked when i came to know that he did not protest baba siddique when he took oath in english which is a foreign Language and he protest Hindio which is our own language so its quite clear that its a publicicity stunt and he has no right to play with the emotions of marathi Manus
Shahid if youask me i will say the way he MNS people hit peolpe or Abu Azmi was been slapped in Vidhan sabha was not correct some where but understand dude what ever the issue he has raised its very much correct. If some is fighting for Soil & for his language what is bad in that. And after all he has a data to proof that which noboby will dined i dont sopport any political party. I have personally seen that if you go to souh people dont speck hindi, they either speck there language or English. Check the Any south polition who speck hindi in the media every one respect there culture that why not marathi people.
For far too long, "ghatis" have been considered dumb, cloying pushovers, and treated as such. If one Raj Thackeray, or one Balasaheb represents the militant end of the spectrum, I only think it serves to balance the equation out.
when mumbai was attacked in 26/11 it was not raj or shiv sena who saved mumbai , it was nsg from varios states who saved mumbai
What Raj Thackeray was doing during attacks???What Raj Thackeray was doing during attacksYou dont know what Raj Thackeray was doing coz our Hindi Channels are suppressing those news
you are right!! raj thackerey is right as well as wrong. Wrong becuase Mumbai is what it is today becuase of two things Bollywood and Business and none of the credit for these two belongs to one linguistic minority or majority. If business and bollywood are moved out of Mumbai, it will die an immediate death and no one will suffer more than the average marathi manoos. Hes right becuase Mumbai is still dying inspite of these two becuase of constant immigration of people who do not have any money to stay in Mumbai and the official patronage given by the AAM AADMI PARTY to such people and the wrong housing policies of such parties-remember inspite of the sky high prices of real estate in Mumbai , ULCA was removed only recently.i am not a marathi but feel sad at some of the words used by Raj. He uses extreme language and violence to put forth his point, which is right in some ways. His tirade against AB and Jaya is especially in bad taste
Raj Thackrey has been portraid by media as he is against north indians. But none of them havent observed his speeches closely. What is he actually talking about. Rajs only concerns is that people of mumbai should get their rights whether he is of any religion. And iam talking about the government institutions and not private offices. Railway recruitment exam is conducted in mumbai but its advertsements are given in UP and bihar and why because Lalu yadav is from that state.And why because lalu needs vote for his party in the next elections and wants to show what is he doing for the yputh as 50% of the votes are youth. People dont understand that if this politians are so damn cared about them then why dont they generate jobs so that they need to come else where. If exams are conducted fairly by giving advertsement all over india(am im saying abt the govt jobs) then no one will complaint and then those who get this jobs will be desrving.Although i believe hitting some one isnot justified
Get well soon Raj!..
Raj ! I Love Bombay
Nothing is wrong but spell it correctly or got kick from marathi.
raj u r the future of maharashtra.
Raj I understand ur emotions for marathas but why does it harm u when mumbai is called bombay?? Crowfard market is never called by anyone as Mahatma Phule market u shud also fight for that if u r fighting against the name bombay. there are many other such examples that even u know calling mumbai bombay doesnt spoil the image of city and the movie in which this word is used has actually appreciated the beauty of the city which was i guess not noticed by u n ur activists. lakhs of people call mumbai as bombay and they are habituated u cant help it. I still see people buying ticket for VT instead of saying CST if u think this is also wrong then keep ur party men outside every ticket window to forcefully teach people to call the station as CST. dont waste ur time and energy for such small things dont create news for nothing be a good and respectable politican we need a good leader and we look it for in u. My best wishes are always with u.
Rajsaheb thackeray whatever you have done is absolutely right.we have full faith in you and my personel wish is that you should become the dictator of maharashtra.we know that only people like you can bring up maharashtra to its glory. MNS and RAJ ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!
RAJ ur right....we always with u...these "bhaiyaas" are spoiling mumbai...they should be kicked out of here..i'm talking about only UP
well well well what raj is doing is to bring his raj ,he wants to do just for maharashtra not for India ,y, if ppl r ready to make him PM in India then he is happy ,its rubbish politics,ppl supporting him are insain n have lost minds,they have no moral n Deshbhakti,they are selfish they have taken money from china,his image is worsen than terrorists n all those who are living in India and they dont love india they dont deserve to live in India,you all should give votes to those who say Jai Bharat Not to those who just say jai maharashtra only because for me Jai Bharat means Jai for all the states ....whoever discriminating never deserves to think of Europe n USA or any other country because there ur recognised as n Indian m sad but raj has started downfall of my country...if ppl want they can save india ...Jai Bharat
WHAT ABOUT THE MAHARASHTRIANS SETTLED IN OTHER PARTS OF INDIA. SHOULD THEY BE BEATEN UP AND THROWN OUT LIKE MNS IS DOING WITH NORTH INDIANS.
We should also do the same with all Maharashtrian setteled in rest india..amit would it answer your quetions?
UP belongs to INDIA you jerk. Think if the military start discriminating on the basis of Regionalism what will happen to our country? Hate spread Hate. Stop this slugfest and Put Raj in JAIL for beating innocent student from Bihar
hi dude..........if u r having to dare ..then go towards south..then u will realiaze the truth of our nation...south indian are not talking in hindi language...........will u go there and talk like as u speak in maharashtra....then i would like to see expression on ur face..and nationalism.....from ur end..dude...dont ever try to speak bad words for raj thackrey......jai maharashtra............strongly.........
I agree with you rahul that most of the south indians do not talk in hindi, so what?? thats the way they have been since years. If you dont want other caste people in your state stop dealing with them, dont go to a bhaiya shop to buy anything, why do u need to get ur clothes ironed from a bhaiya, why do u buy milk
raj is done well job to marathi people please support that person
All raj thackery supporters didn%u2019t have knowledge about INDIA and they didn%u2019t have info about this country they only says ""raj is done well job to marathi people please support that person"" like that word's. all my raj thackery supporters have y go out side maharashtra ? I am sour y don%u2019t
this msg is for raj thakraey;raj is his right in his place,which have created question about marathi manus.
raj isdoing good work
Shalini Thackeray, 40, is the first daughter-in-law from the politically powerful Maharashtrian family.She is the wife of Jeetendra Thackeray, a cousin of MNS founder Raj.She is a Punjabi born in Uttar Pradesh, but she has been fielded in the Lok Sabha elections by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)...You wanted to throw all North Indians out...now go ahead and do it...just like charity start from your own home...
Manisha,I would simple say just go and stay 15 days in every State other than maharashtra and their Cities ,just observer Observe the person they talk,thier Shop ,Hotels in which Langauge you get more Reply to you and then you can blame to any personalaity , Think twice before you speak or write or you should proof it eg.South indinas are Accepting all the UP People to come and stay in their state ,speak Hindi, do what they want in the South Indain State. your Intellectual is very week you do nt understand want the Raj want to say. i think you should join MNS. Because Raj have all records of all the Indian geographical Boundires state their langguage,their culture,Laws after analyses he come to conclusion then why we Maharashtra dont follow.
U r fool Manisha. U just can't understand the subject. Get admission into Nursery and sing nursery rhymes. U IDIOT
manisha raj thackeray is not opposing all non maharashtrians but opposing those who are currently coming in loads.If they occupy the place where will the real sons of this land will go.Have you seen north indians in other states like gujrat,tamil,andhra,kerala in such an amount.MNS is not just kicking out non-maha but to attain a right place for maharashtrians.Try to understand his idea,you will come know that he right at his place.
I think this Article is in a very large sence, i must say that point of Mr. Raj Thackeray is only that every one that means outsiders should respect our language and our Culture thats it, some people and who are personaly opposed to Rajsaheb, are trying to present him wrongly,he is not opposed any community or he is not an enemy of any perticular community, his point is just that there should not be any injustice to Marathi Manoos, so ithink Rajsaheb is nowhere wrong.
Terrorist should attack india continously, thus making india weak, and Riots a good step for india split goal. Muslim should marry weak religion i.e. hindu girls in abdunance. Pakistan should attack India, making India weak. All Separatists in India will then come in open and split india in small small countries like GUJRATISTHAN, MARATHISTAN, KHALISTAN Etc. Etc. So let us all support Islamic terrorist to fulfill Raj's Dream....
IF INDIA MUST SPLIT THEN BOSS THEY HAVE TO CROSS US, US MEANS THE GREAT MARATHA WE HAVE ALWAYS WELCOMED ALL BUT IF U TRY TO SEPERATE ALL THEN WE WILL B VERY HEAVY FOR ALL LIKE SHIVAJI WHO ESCAPED FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE COWARD AURANJEB COME AND FACE ME I'LL SHOWRAJ THACKERY YOU REALLY ROCK MAN HAR HAR MAHADEV JAI MAHARASHTRA JAI BHARAT
U fools u actually don't know the situation going on and u r commenting.
for the first time someone is doing something for the locals.we r tired of seeing slums grow and us tax payers face water-/light probs.the majority of immigrants are from outside states. as a tax paying citizen its my right to get better facilities then a beggar from another state sqwatting freely on my roads.they r responsibilty of their own states. shout or work for them if ya have guts, all anti Maharashtrians.go ahead Rajsaheb cleanse Maharashtra!
I realy thanks all of you people asking for Mr Raj this at this hour of attack on Mumbai which shows that you ppl know he has the power to bring things in the right direction.Also to All Indians,Please stop worring about Maharashtra and dont show your crock tears about Mumbai.You do not care about Mumbai, Maharashtra
Mr.Thackeray where were you when Mumbai was burning.Its funny that there was not a single statement from you. Your theory of MAHARASHTRA FOR Maharashtrians is so inhumane.Your MNS workers dint save mumbai but NSG and Military who are not maharashtrian but North Indian and South Indian.When they dont divide themselves then who are you ?Please become an INDIAN actually first become a human being .
U foolish girl. stupid. Whr were ur sonia gandhi and manmohan singh at that time? U idiot. Also FYI: there is one regement in the Indian Army named "Maratha Regement" which is the oldest regement of the Indian Army and it is the most dangerous regement especially used for the operations in mountain regions. There are n number of marathas in our Indian army. Only few sharmas and varmas don't make Indian army u idiot.
Dear Raj and all raj supporter I request you please live outside mumbai(mountain) and read history of INDIA not only history of maharashtra If I ask y all raj supporter who is VICE President of india ? Then I am conform y all don%u2019t know So please read history of india . and the oldest regiment of indian army formed in 1750 that is %u201CTHE Madras Regiment%u201D and sikh regiment is got highest awards not which y told us and I request y please don%u2019t take any regiment name they r all best they r saving us jai hind
For facts My dear all sick friend For your information Manmohan Singh is the best prime minister in India And Sonia ji leave the position of prime minister for us and Your Raj leave uncle for the sake of position. if a person is not with his uncle then how could he is with y? And other think NSG is in Delhi and in Mumbai attack 1st died person is Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan is belong from Bihar Regiment%u2019s he is form Kerala and Cremation happed in Bangalore and other NSG command is Gajender Singh is form Uttarakhand in both the honors%u2019 people only says%u201D Bharat Mata ki jai %u201C Not jai Uttarakhand jai Karnataka jai Bihar jai Kerala So all raj supporter %u201Cget wall soon%u201D Jai hind
Ha ha ha.. You (Marathi Me) are the most foolish guy in INDIA... Go n check again your facts.. What do you want to say.. You marathis are very powerful and rest of INDIA is because of you guys......... thuuuuuuu... You are the super idiot... wait for consequences what you guys are supporting for.. the time is very near..You have not seen the reply yet from north INDIA.. wait... Jab pani sar tak pahunch jayega na.. tab tumhe samajh ayega .. tume kya support kar rahe ho..
gurkha regiment works best in mountains,n dont forget about jat regiment ,jaat got the medal in boxing n wrestlin gin olympics showing u the physical power,n Punjabi got the Gold ,what u got in there, 0 ,get ur knowlwdge right my whole family worked in Indian force to save India,m happy for that but one day would be late for u to return on the road of deshbhakta road so get on it right now ur parents must have born in up ,right,i can die for up n maharashtra because i love everything in the boundary of my country ,so i like u too ,but betetr be cool down n think about country....GOD BLESS YOU N ALL MY INDIANS
MNS is not a anti terrorist party.And was there any congress or bjp.why dont you question cong. as it is leading india.why just raj.
Ridhima, when terrorist attacked mumbai instead of remembering any other congress politician why did u expect Raj to intervene? This indicates that how much u expect from this man.
at the time of attack raj thakare is where go? is funny quition. because raj was not attack on mumbai.i know you ask this funny quition with referance from t.v media. i shame on all the hindi
The girl ridhima is trying to underestimate Mr. Raj this comment is very rediculas and nonsence B' coz to do something in that situaion was the work of state govt not of Rajsaheb and he is already saying that there should ban on come and go anywhere without permisson and should start on the state level first,
ok the work of raj shaeb is to spread poison in the minds of marathis for their votes. I am hurt and depressed with this mentality.