Onion Uttapam : India's Leading Satire Daily

Mumbai has seen a lot of politicians come and go and over the years many will come. But very few will have or have had the kind of influence and command over the masses of this secular metropolis like Bal Thackeray has.Balasaheb has influenced Mumbai like Fidel Castro has influenced Cuba with his revolutionary attitude.Both these leaders have contrasting issues in perspective; when I compare them I am only comparing the kind of influence and magnetism they have. Balasaheb as he is fondly called by the Mumbaikars has been constantly the watchdog of the Marathi pride of this city and state and has fought over the years for the same.There has never been anyone who has ever looked challenging enough to stand up to Balasahebs charisma and dynamism till Raj thackeray came bursting on to the manch of Maharashtrian politics.

Odious comparisons were drawn between Raj and Balasaheb as soon as Raj came on to the scene as the right hand man of Balasaheb but I believe those comparisons have been made rightly so because they both have a lot of uncanny similarities in their careers and personal lives which few would know.Both of them are good caricaturists, both of them have very high influence on the common marathi man who is so often the subject of dispute, both of them in their acts have promoted regionalism at the early stages of their careers....(Raj with his actions against the bhaiyas which so clearly reminds us of a younger Balasaheb who had a similar stand on Madrasis)

well I truly believe Raj is the perfect heir to Balasaheb in every sense of the word because only he has got the dynamism and the aura and defiance which Balasaheb possesses even now, though the latter has mellowed gracefully with age.

Having said so much about these men I would also like to take a stand on their views which demands that Maharashtra be a completely Marathi state. India is a secular nation and a democracy but then there is an overflowing population in certain cities/states while others are living at peace, apparently. Mumbai/Maharashtra is one place which has got overcrowded over the years and calling Maharashtra to be a completely Marathi state is one of the measures to reduce this over crowdedness...but then this would defy the word secular which we Mumbaikars call ourselves so often...it would defy the kind of spirit Mumbai has shown during the times of crisis and people from every community have stood up to those calamities be it blasts or floods or riots Mumbai has faced it all with a smile and remained rock solid without fragmenting into the sectarian ghettos like Beirut for example.

I strongly oppose the idea of Maharashtra becoming a completely Marathi state because firstly it would take away the secular tag from us which is the pride of our city and also it would take away the different flavors of the city due to which the city is what it is! instead I would like to see some regulation made over the amount of people coming into the city somewhat like what Delhi has got done....a work permit or something on those lines...

What this would ensure is that spirit of the city is not hurt and at the same time there is a sort of control that would prevail in the city which would help the city maintain a certain level of cosmopolitanism as well.What both the Thackeray's have failed is to have a bigger picture on the canvas, the same canvas which got them the fame in the first place. And if they could ride sensiblity over passion, Mumbai would be a world class city in the true sense. Else, the City will lose them in the dustbins of mediocrity that is reserved for parochial statesmen.

Comments (1)

umesh derebail said:

Already people have started migrating from Mumbai, due to fear of Global warming, sea levels are rising day by day. By the time politicians realise waters will come to their doorstep, let them heed the warning of the nature. Last time around Tsunami did not hit mumbai luckily, second time it is not going to be same again. We are not Mumbaikers but still enjoyed living in Mumbai for 12 years and decided to quit. Back to our home town.

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May 06, 2008 | url
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