Misplaced Pride and Priorities

There are times when I am ashamed to trace my roots back to my Maharashtrian roots and the recent protests plaguing Bombay and the surrounding areas is definitely making this one of those times. The infamous Bal Thackeray and his family have been leading the cause over the past few years to ensure that Maharashtra remains a Marathi dominated state and while the ideals are great, I think they are taking their stances a bit too far. Now I'm as proud as the next person to be Maharashtrian but when that pride leads to violence I can't help but turn my head in shame. Especially when they are forcing their views on anyone and everyone such as the most recent high profile targets, the Bachchan family.

Now as I've stated previously, I'm no big fan of Amitabh Bachchan but I have respect for who he is and what he has accomplished and continues to accomplish though I will never treat him like a deity. Amitabh Bachchan and his wife Jaya have been longtime residents of Bombay and they have done a great deal for the community over the years. They have supported Marathi artists and causes and have supported the community of Bombay which is still largely Maharashtrian. However, Bal Thackeray has led the cause for maintaining Marathi roots in the city to such a degree that it is bordering on strongarm tactics and terror in order to enforce a 'my-way-or-the-highway' type of attitude. They have recently been promoting the enforcement of a Marathi only policy within the city whereby all merchants and vendors would be required to display signs only in Marathi.

In cities like Pune which is almost all Maharashtrian (not all but much of it), it makes sense to enforce this type of policy but what needs to be remembered is that Bombay (or Mumbai as some prefer to call it but it will always be Bombay to me) is an international city that welcomes people from all over the world to their city and as such, having a policy of Marathi only will only serve to make it a bit less welcoming. Now I have heard arguements that state that because it is Maharashtra it should only be Marathi but it is not the national language. When you have businesses from all over India working in Maharashtra, why complicate things and make Marathi the only language that would be acceptable?

And targeting people like the Bachchan's because they simply made a speech in Hindi does nothing but prove how petty and childish Bal Thackeray and some of his followers can be. If the Bachchans were in any way shape or form against anything and everything Marathi then I can understand their ire but in this case, they have done a lot for the community which has been acknowledged in the past but is seen as a minor issue now. I think it's terrible the way they have been treated as well as those not even related to the Bachchans. Who do I mean? Well apparently staunch followers of Bal Thackeray's policies went to carry their protest against Bachchan at a theatre premiering his latest film. They turned violent and caused a lot of property damage that ended up hurting the theatre more than the Bachchans. I mean all the theatre did was show the movie. They didn't do or say anything that warranted this type of attack other than to show Bachchan's new movie. Isn't this targeting the wrong ideal?

Maharashtrians are very proud of their culture and their heritage and we have every right to be. However, by forcing everyone to take that stance or follow that ideal is just wrong. Many of the people who follow the dictums of Thackeray are only doing so because they don't know any better. They listen to the statements and accusations made by Thackeray and assume that what he says is the only way to go and they take out their violence on people with nothing to do with the root cause of their ire. It's a shame because it stigmatizes the entire Marathi community. We are all seen to be of the same ilk when it is only a small majority of those who have stood up for one side of the issue without knowing the other side. There are few times when I'm ashamed of my heritage but this incident is definitely one of them.