No identity crisis

In good faith

Maharashtrian youth have moved on; Raj Thackeray hasn’t

There was a time when Parsi businessmen and industrialists from Mumbai preferred to employ the ‘Marathi manoos’ in their offices, for he was hard-working, sincere and honest. He had respect for scholarship, was kind to subordinates and obedient to employers.

His work ethics earned him esteem from those around him. To be Marathi was like an additional qualification in Mumbai and white collar jobs were waiting for migrants from the hinterland of Maharashtra.

Then Mumbai became the dreamland for all Indians and its commercial success created a wide gap between the success and failure, wealth and poverty. Politicians
always have a field day in such situations and so was the case in Mumbai. Extreme successes bred disrespect for law; extreme failures gave birth to discontent. This combined to increase social tensions.

The reaction of the diehard Marathi Mumbaikars to all what was thus happening in the city was one of anger and dissatisfaction, for they had not anticipated a challenge to their future. They had shed blood for the inclusion of Mumbai in

Maharashtra as the state capital after the reorganisation of the bilingual state of Bombay in 1960.

But their dreams turned sour after the initial euphoria of the creation of Samyukta Maharashtra was over. The continuous influx of people from every nook and
corner of the country, made them uneasy and they felt that their hold on the city was being threatened with every wave of migration.

This is proved by how quickly Marathi Mumbaikars unite even at the slightest suggestion of Mumbai being separated from Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena, formed with a single-point programme of safeguarding Marathi interests in Mumbai, met with instant success.

But neither the leaders of Shiv Sena nor its followers noticed that transient success made Marathi Mumbaikars arrogant, insincere, with no respect for learning, instead aspiring for quick rewards and searching for short cuts to prosperity.

Violence in speech soon deteriorated into acceptance of violent means. Invoking the name of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire, came in handy.

Then onwards, non-issues became issues of Marathi asmita. The slightest challenge to their authority became the issue of status. Flippant comments, arrogant repartee, jingoistic public speech, mimicry skills… all these proved ‘leadership’ qualities in the Sena.

These leaders got undeserving publicity; indecent speeches got reported as they made attractive ‘copy’. ‘Outsiders’ including Bollywood stars buying peace with them inflated the leaders’ egos.

Thus grew their image and fortune, but Marathi interests were sacrificed, leaving the younger generation with questions about what went wrong and who was responsible for the attitudinal change. Moot questions these, at once easy and difficult to answer.

It did not take long for younger, talented, professional Marathi Mumbaikars to
realise that they had become suspect in the eyes of others and therefore it was difficult for them to get top-ranking positions unless they proved that they has no allegiance to the Sena.

The turning away of these youngsters made the Sena a regional party, a shouting brigade of disgruntled souls whose leaders made too much noise but did precious little. Sena Chief Bal Thackeray was quick to realise this when, by sheer chance, the Sena-BJP combine came to power in the state in 1994, but it was too late to mend matters. His son

Uddhav quickly created an inclusive policy when he took charge of the party, so that other communities did not feel left out.

In the wake of globalisation and boom in IT and banking sectors, younger Marathis wanted to recover lost ground.

They have shed their inhibitions and inferiority complexes and are coming out of their insular mould with confidence. They are joining American and European universities in greater numbers every year and seeking employment there.

Thus the situation has changed and with that, the paradigms of social behaviour. The Marathi middle class which was the mainstay of the Shiv Sena has come out of its shell, as it were, and is scaling greater heights. The growing middle class is convinced that in the long run only merit pays and hard work benefits.

This younger generation of the Marathis, having tasted the success and rewards of money power, does not want to lose it. It is struggling to obtain the best of higher education, earning scholarships or part time employment, whether in India or abroad to complete education. It is trying to find its own dreamland. The aggressive posture of Shiv Sena no longer attracts it and it shuns the politics of violence.

That Raj Thackeray of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena failed to notice this significant social change as fast as his cousin Uddhav did is surprising.

The writer is a commentator on political and social affairs.