No country for our men!

MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) in the month of Feburary 2008, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists come to blows with the Samajwadi Party (SP) workers, when the latter scheduled a rally at Dadar, Mumbai where MNS has a strong hold. 73 MNS activists and 19 SP workers were arrested for indulging in violence after Abu Asim Azmi SP leader made offensive speech, leading to a clash between the two.

Founded in 2006,MNS leader Raj Thankrey believing it to be a provocative act by SP to threaten the power of MNS at their own base. Calling it a“uncontrolled political and cultural dadagiri (thuggery)” of UP and Bihari migrants and other political leaders, MNS activists broke out violent acts against the north-Indians in various areas of Maharashtra. This lead to an arrest of the leaders of both the parties on the charges of instigating their party workers, who were later released on a bail.

Addressing the Chhath, Bihar’s most popular festival with degrading remark and covering this act with false logic, stoning the theatres showing Bhojpuri films, assaulting the office staff at Bombay Taximen’s Union and thrashing the innocent north-Indians in Maharashtra in day light are one of the reasons by the MNS to justify their take to protect the maharashtrians of the Maharashtra. This seeming to throw light on the long struggle our city our country needs to measure before it viewed as completely harmonial place. It surprising to know while in amidst of this, most of the local mumbaikars be it Marathi or not seem to completely disagree with the stand of MNS and fail to understand what justice MNS party is speaking of.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh condemning the MNS act has promised to protect the migrants in the state. BJP alleged Congress for deliberately not taking any measure to stop the violence, Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claims there will be consequences. But what easily goes unnoticed is the financial state of the Maharashtra, with hundred of crore of rupees loss to the state due to a major migrant workers shift from Maharashtra back to their home town, mostly in the north. Last but not the least the innocent north Indian’s plight is still not heard by the state and the fear has only increased. Their protection needs to be of an outmost importance priority of the state. It’s not rocket science, it’s as simple as it can be, Mumbai a living entity in itself does not work only on the basis of the ‘big- money’ but also on the basis of the labour class. It goes without saying that the north Indians forms a large of chunk of the working economy, not for nothing Mumbai is considered a place where any small is possible. This one of the most expensive city of the world has risen to its standard owing a lot to this working class which makes the smallest of work possible, no price for guessing that if all the north Indian taxi drivers, auto drivers, pan wallas and other venders are abandoned the city will be at the best of its shock moments. For are there really as equal Marathi ‘manoos’ who are willing to take up the above mentioned jobs?

This problem is a state and national level problem, incapability of one state to offer jobs has many attributes to it and the migrants are not to be blamed by their native states inefficiency. A state owns it language status by its culture and it’s a human nature to adapt brilliantly to its surroundings be it anyone from anywhere, it less than a matter of time. Mumbai is a city whose virtue is acceptance; it doesn’t take much to blend in.

A country allows its citizens to move anywhere they choose. How can a North- Indian feel free to call his country his home when there is discrimination purely on the basis of illogical means and where the basic right to earn it violated? Most of the city is repelled to see a few people questioning the authenticity of people purely on the basis of language and origin where years of dedication is questioned, which has only helped the city more. MNS has logic the screams “It’s my way or highway!” but what it fails to understand is that it lacks the what it takes the nation to agree. Unity is the first motive of leadership; violence is simply an agitated and frustrated state of a few helpless bunch of fools.