Is Mumbai cosmopolitan? Just check its candidates

Mumbai’s cosmopolitan character has been under attack lately, so it is heartwarming to see the list of candidates who will be contesting the elections for the six constituencies in the city. Between them, they represent all that Mumbai stands for, in all its diversity, linguistic, religious, gender and economic status.

There are Maharashtrians (Eknath Gaikwad, Ram Naik, Mohan Rawle), a Marwari  (Milind Deora), a Kannadiga (Gurudas Kamath), a North Indian Bihari (Sanjay Nirupam) a Punjabi, herself a child of Hindu and Muslim parents and married to a Christian (Priya Dutt) and a Gujarati (Kirit Somaiya). These are all professional politicians; the newbies include a Gujarati (Mona Shah), two Sindhis (Mahesh Jethmalani and Meera Sanyal) and a north Indian married into a prominent Maharashtrian family (Shalini Thackeray).

Not all of them are Mumbai-born and bred. Nirupam moved to the city a few years ago and soon became a Shiv Sena MP; today he is their implacable foe. On the other hand, Deora comes from a political family and his father Murli, probably the best connected politician in the city, began life in a chawl, became a corporator and then the Mayor of Bombay.

This is Mumbai in all its diversity and glory. It confirms what all of us already know—that this is a city of opportunity, of possibilities and where it doesn’t take long for the “outsider” to become a native Mumbaikar. Priya Dutt’s father came as a film industry hopeful and made it, marrying the top star of his day, while Jethmalani’s father was a refugee from Pakistan and Mahesh is one of the city’s top lawyers. Indeed, Shalini Thackeray herself is a north Indian married to a cousin of Raj Thackeray and is contesting on an MNS ticket. They are all Mumbaikars in the truest sense.

It is a fair bet that this kind of diversity would be missing in the candidates’ list in say Kolkata or Chennai. A non-native, in terms of someone who can not only speak the local language but is a “son of the soil” would simply stand no chance; no party would chose them and no voters would elect them. Delhi, being itself a city of refugees is somewhat different, but not very much so. Bangalore, for all its claims of being a hip, modern metropolis is still very much provincial; a few pubs and malls do not a cosmopolitan culture make. For immigrants everywhere, breaking into local politics is the final frontier of assimilation and so far this has not happened in other cities in any significant way.

It is this mix of people from all cultures and diverse socio-economic backgrounds that often threatens the chauvinist elements of Mumbai. They understand that unless they constantly try and oppose it, it could undermine their own political base. Hence the periodic attacks on “outsiders”, the constant demands that immigrants be stopped from coming into the city and stealing jobs that should go to the locals. Predictably, the Shiv Sena’s latest manifesto (released in a five star hotel, it must be pointed out) calls for 80 percent jobs for Maharashtrians.

Both the Shiv Sena and its offshoot the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are fighting for the same space of wooing the native Marathi speaker with such demands. They want to exploit what they perceive is a sense of grievance among Marathi manoos about these outsiders, which, they think will translate into votes. This sense of being discriminated against in their own city is often reflected in popular culture; a recent movie Mee Shivaji Boltoy, done on the lines of Lager Raho Munnabhai shows a disgruntled Maharashtrian being encouraged by Shivaji to rise and reclaim his rights. (The final message of the film, however acknowledges that the Marathi will have to co-exist with people of other regions.)

But at the same time, both the parties do realise that the migrants — if they can be called that — are here to stay. Not only because the Constitution allows freedom of movement, but mainly because without them this city would simply stop functioning The constant stream of newcomers – poor, middle-class, rich – has been the lifeblood of first Bombay and then Mumbai. They came with money, ideas, energy and most of all, dreams. The “superstar who slept on the bench at Marine Drive” is no urban legend — it is the story of Amitabh Bachchan.

Migrants have made Mumbai the cultural and economic powerhouse it is. Parsi industrialists, Gujarati traders, Punjabi film makers, Tamilian software engineers and Marathi cricketers are all part of the mosaic, salad bowl, quilt call it what you will. In offices, on the street and in our famed local trains, they all rub shoulders without prejudice. And the Marathiness of Mumbai can never be ignored—it is part of every Mumbaikar’s DNA, except that he doesn’t have to shout it out or wear it on his sleeve. No true-blue Mumbaikar would feel comfortable in his “native” place after living here; this is home, cosmopolitan and global, not provincial and local like other parts of India. It is heartening to know that whoever finally wins in the elections, Mumbai will be represented by a diverse group of MPs who embody the glorious cosmopolitanism of this city that is unlike no other in the country.