State must learn from founding fathers

The formation of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti on February 6, 1956, led to the integration of diverse political forces to wage a sometimes bloody struggle, which cost 105 lives, to create a unified Marathi-speaking state. Setting aside their political ideologies, stalwarts like Keshav Jedhe, SM Joshi, SA Dange, NG Gore, KS Thackeray, Senapati Bapat, Shahir Amar Shaikh, PK Atre, Walchand Kothari et al joined hands to make Maharashtra their common cause. The outcome was the creation of the state on May 1, 1960.

Fifty-one years later, the big question is: which way is politics in the state heading? The forces that have emerged over the past five decades are jostling for their own identities through partisan politics, leaving the larger issues of Maharashtra on the back seat. Shouts of ‘Jai Maharashtra’ get louder every year, but they do not bring Maharashtrian politicians together to make the state’s welfare their common goal.

How else does one explain the constant conflict within the ruling Congress-NCP alliance? In spite of a common ideological background, their sole concern is expanding their influence with the motive of capturing power solo. The result: regional biases pitching Western Maharashtra against Vidarbha, Konkan and Marathwada. In Mumbai and its extended suburbs, one has to live with the ‘anti-outsider’ politics of the Senas, which brings rich dividends to the Congress.

Whether it is the BJP, Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or Nationalist Congress Party, all of them were born much after the state. The Congress, the only party that survives from the 1950s, never supported the state’s formation, though individual leaders favoured the movement. The Socialists and the Communists, who took on the mighty Congress led by Jawaharlal Nehru to push for the creation of Maharashtra, are almost non-existent in the state today. Their disintegration in the 1960s and 1970s paved the way for the consolidation of regional forces.

On June 19, 1966, the Sena was formed under Bal Thackeray’s leadership. Successive Congress leaders used the Sena to clip the wings of the Socialists and the Communists. Now, the Sena finds itself at a crossroads, confronted with multi-headed rivals determined to beat it on home turf. The 2012 BMC election will be a do-or-die battle for the party.
Maharashtra’s political journey has been dotted with shocks and surprises. Notwithstanding the strong anti-Congressism that accompanied the state’s birth, the party ruled Maharashtra for almost 45 of the next 51 years.
The turmoil within the Congress saw Sharad Pawar parting ways to form the NCP in 1999. Despite the bitter breakup, the two parties practise pragmatism when it comes to enjoying the fruits of power. But the MNS led by Raj Thackeray appears intent on wrecking the parent Sena. While Uddhav and Raj cannot see eye to eye, cadres in the Sena and MNS continue to hope that they will unite someday as both swear by the sons of the soil.
k_shubhangi@dnaindia.net