Bangalore…a chance to become a truly world city
Brought on by the sight of so many different people at Newark Liberty International Airport….
I think Bangalore is, and has been for quite some time now, a microcosm of what New York is. Kannadigas have been, traditionally, very tolerant people, and this has enabled people from all parts of the country to settle down here and call this city home. Tamilians came during the British Raj to settle in the Cantonment. The presence of manufacturing units, whether indigenous, in the public sector, or companies from abroad, brought in people from many other countries like Japan and Korea, too, and many people from the African and Asian continent come here for engineering and medical studies.
The coming of the IT boom only accelerted this process exponentially, and today’s Bangalore is a melting-pot of several nationalities… indeed, of Indians from many other parts of our country, and their cultures and customs….
I thought how New York has made a strength of this very aspect of having a mixture of people…there are no “native New Yorkers” in the sense of people who have traditionally lived there (unless one can find people who are descended from the Red Indians who lived there orignially)…but New York is a vigorous, vibrant multi-national, multi-racial mix, where anyone can make a living if they have the ability to do so. Over the years and centuries, many of the people who have migrated to New York have also given back to the city in various ways. New York is an equation unto itself…so much so that most Americans I have met agree that New York is a separate entity in itself, part of, but yet distinct from, the general American ethos.
I feel that Kannadigas, too, instead of becoming insular or insecure about their heritage and “purity”, should make a strong, vigorous city of Bangalore; everyone should be welcome to stay here and call Bangalore home, and the culture of the Kannadigas can be a strong underpinning for the multi-cultural mix, too. This way, we will succeed in evolving from a “Kannada” Bangalore into a “world city” Bangalore, in the true sense of the word.
It is, I feel, of no use for any one, no matter how long they may have lived in Bangalore, to say, “We are the only true Bangaloreans”. Yes, Kannada has a distinct identity, and some people can rightly claim to be true-blue Kannadigas. But as far as this city goes, let’s face it…the person who has just moved in as an IT techie a few months or weeks ago is as much a Bangalorean as one whose grandfather built his home in the venerable old areas of the city. So instead of trying to exclude anyone, let us do what Bangalore has always done…be hospitable to the newcomers who come here to make a living, and make, with excellent infrastructure and creation of wealth, a true megacity, not of just Karnataka or India, but a great city of the world. This takes great strength of vision, one that looks beyond the claims of the short term to the future, many decades ahead, but I feel that we have the opportunity to achieve this now. Bangalore has always been the most cosmopolitan of the Indian cities I know…and we have a great opportunity to go global in our thinking and our culture now. It is an exciting opportunity to grasp.
Genetics, indeed, shows that that only intermingling produces strength in breeding; inbreeding and insulation produces only weakeness. Unless there is a constant infusion of new factors and culture, evolution will not happen. The windows of our city must be open to the winds of change, and not closed….lest, in the quest for keeping “cultural purity”, that culture stagnates and withers. So instead of resisting change, let us, as Bangaloreans, embrace it, and see to it that a global identity emerges from it.
Like New York celebrates Hanukkah and Chinese New Year, we too are already in the habit of celebrating Durga Puja and Id and Christmas….let’s also celebrate festivals from other nations and other cultures and be global citizens. The good will automatically survive, and the bad will die out by itself.
Very good post. I heartfully agree that, this is the only way we can pave for growth. I appreciate the thoughts expressed in this post and a good starter towards an integrated culture.
what a boring post! I am tired of reading such nonsense of why kannadigas should continue to be tolerant and how great it is for us. blah blah blah. {yawn}
According to you "The good will automatically survive, and the bad will die out by itself."
Are you saying that Durga pooja,christmas and other festivals from other parts of India and other nations are the good ones and the local festivals and local culture/ language are the bad ones which should die. Sure sounds like it.
Dear Deepa,
Stop teaching the tolerance lessons to people in bangalore.
The techie who moved in a few months ago is no match for people who are in bangalore from generations. We have built the city the infrastructure we are paying the tax and what not. The petrol prices in bangalore is highest as part of it goes towards infrastructure development. I have been paying it from say years how can a person who moved in yesterday be the same??? How do you justify this ??
Yes NY is a city of migrants. Let only the best survive let the same rule apply here as well. No props but here is the rider in NY you don’t demand the security guy to talk to u in Hindi but here they do. If the guard does not speak hindi he is simply replaced with one speaking in Hindi.This is not acceptable.So comparing NY with Bangalore is stupidity.
"Unless there is a constant infusion of new factors and culture, evolution will not happen." thats bang on why not these migrants make an effort to understand the culture and language of Bangalore and evolve new culture thats is more harmonious with the current environment.
For a person who fights every day for his bread and butter trying to be a " global citizen" is too much to ask for.
@Gowri…I cannot understand why you think I said that local festivals are bad and "imported" ones are good! And why do you feel that it is a bad thing for Kannadigas to continue to be tolerant, when tolerance is what, I feel, has made the city one that is on the world map today?
@Chappar…How can I teach lessons in tolerance to the people of Bangalore who, I feel, are very good at it, and have been so for several centuries now!
I also feel that the sense of "belonging" to Bengaluru is what makes a Bengalurean, not how much of taxes one pays etc. ( As someone living in Blr since 1988, I pay as much towards taxes or cesses or petrol as anyone else….I have given up taking the car except for dire need and use the buses as much as possible…)
The security guards in my apartment building are a mix of Kannada and other-language speakers. If they speak Kannada…of course we speak the same language to them, after all, it is the language of this city!
Evolution and fusion is a two-way process always..the new meets the old and both change and fuse and adapt.
And…the poor man in the ghettos of Harlem or the Bronx is as much a New Yorker and a world citizen as the wealthy in their Fifth Avenue mansions!
Hi Deepa, A really wonderful post especially in these times where we seem to have lost our good old virtues of tolerance and brotherhood. For posts like this, you have to be prepared for extreme opinions but at the same time, you will get your well-deserved kudos! And one is definitely from me.
The problem we are facing today is not with change itself, because that has been pretty constant in Bangalore. It is with the rate of change where the new things have begun to take over the old systems with a vengeance. There are margins of society who have not been able to benefit from the boom in Bangalore, and the politicians are making the best use of such simmering discontent. And there are other people, who feel that Bangalore was theirs and is now being invaded by what they see as ‘outsiders’. This is the part that has never traveled extensively throughout India, trying to understand its subtext.
Coming to the churn in language, most people I meet in the lower income group have quickly adapted, and can speak a minimum of three languages. For me, it makes a lot of economic and social sense to learn a lot of languages. People who want to stick to their own can do so at their own peril – that holds good both for those who came in and those who were here already.
I will not so much go around taking a stand by any side or make my own remarks. Let me have them to myself.
But what I do wonder is why is this topic getting discussed/posted a little too much here. It feels like same topic, reworded, reposted and hammered on readers again and again and again. Is there really a need to drive this point so much? Or is it because this is a topic that can bring out emotions on both sides and people can enjoy hot debates? Move on please. Honestly, I am bored.
Deepa, so you’ve been traveling looks like. Nice post. There is something in there to think about. My views largely on the comments:
Firstly this argument that someone who has been here long enough is the true Bangalorean according to me isn’t strong. Yes there is always bound to be comparisons with those who were born here & lived here most part of their lives & those who just moved here. I would like to look at it from the other perspective. Say for instance a person who was born here in Bangalore, lived here in Bangalore for most part of his life moves to lets say Chennai or Hyderabad or Delhi, the question is, does he become a Chennaite, Hyderabadi or Delhiite? According to me he does. This to me is as simple as if today I am studying in St. Josephs I am a Josephite & tomorrow if I move to Bishop Cotton’s I become a Cottonian (or whatever they are called:-) Yes my heart will still beat for St. Josephs. Now, having said this, I know the debate then will shift to old students who have been there forever & the new who have just come in. Honestly here I must agree with Chappar when he says that people here expect you to speak in Hindi. Very valid point actually. But then why is it like that. That is because Hindi is a National language & is expected to be understood & spoken anywhere in India but more than just the national language tag I feel it also because of the spread Hindi cinema & of late the Cable TV has because of which Hindi is largely understood anywhere here. Taking that point further I feel it is important for anybody who comes in here to adapt to the local culture as much as possible. And one of the best ways of doing that is to speak the local language, which for some reason I feel brings about a certain connect. And how do we promote a language like Kannada here not by forcing all shop owners to ensure their name boards are first in Kannada & then in English. Or ensure that all government forms are in Kannada only. To me it has to be beyond that. This is probably where Kannada films could play a role. This is probably where the government’s cultural section has to come in & promote Kannada language & set up neighbourhood type institutes at very economical fees. But then there is another argument here. Aren’t some of we city people actually graduating to conversing, communicating in English more than any Indian language, lets just forget Kannada here for the moment. For instance this entire debate here is in English. Now what do we do for that?
This is needless to say a complex thing. Yes the true Bangaloreans have to welcome the new people who come here but at the same time the new ones who come here have to also pick up the local culture, language & other things. And needless to say we Bangaloreans also have to pick up a bit of their culture & language. According to me to teach them Kannada we need to know Hindi or whatever language they speak. Then Bangalore will truly be a melting pot of cultures & languages.
I think everyone has a point in this discussion. Sadly a lot of good will die in the fight. Ideally, its the good that one must search for and preserve in life. But most of us gun for that is bad. Guess its all about practical life and the fact as humans we are not strong enough to do so?
There is no way one can find out who loves Bangalore more.
In India, every majory city will become an attraction for all of the country. Thats almost a given until the nation changes the laws. We will have to view cities differently from the rest of India. Of course, we need to see other states creating more and more vibrant & friendlier cities too.
I would’ve appreciated this post if it spoke about the other side of Preran’s post few days back. It’s exactly what Preran has already said and which went into a positive debate.
One of the comments there was targeting the authors for not having a local voice. I definitely didn’t like that comment, but after seeing one more post which tells something very similar and doesn’t even try to see the other side of the debate, I believe the commenter there had a point.
The other side I’m mentioning is, how much effort the newcomer (I’m not using the word immigrant purposefully) is actually putting, not to learn and practice, but at least to appreciate the local culture (by culture I mean food, arts, people and most importantly the language). An evolution of a culture happens over a period of time by a fusion of multiple cultures , it takes its own time and it’s usually a longer process, unless the civilization is wiped out by a calamity.
Coming to the main point in the post, New York, New York is what it is today because every New Yorker is proud and happy to display his affection for NYC. The omnipresence of "I heart NYC" itself is an evidence of that. Everyone cheer for their yankees. I’ve met many Indian and Chinese immigrants who lived in NYC and they just love NYC to the core and learn everything about the city. It’s not easy to compare an American city with an Indian city, because most of the American cities are built by immigrants, but here its not the same.
It’s not about division and creating hatred on regionalism, for that matter I believe that religion and nationalism are causes for most of the problems in the world. All I’m trying to say is fusion of cultures will happen (its already happening at a fast pace) over time and there is no need to teach us how to be tolerant. We are tolerant and that’s why Bangalore is what it is today and I’m proud of that, although I crib about the fact that even the South Indian hotels serve only North Indian food for dinner and I have to struggle to get the food I love ;)
You make good points, Deepa. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the only threat to the "culture" that Bangalore might (not really a big worry so far) face and large parts of India (already a threat) are facing is the injection of large doses of hardline intolerance into the thoughts of its people.
Indianess, if explored seriously, is at its core about plurality, multiple truths and acceptance, in fact the celebration of diverse ideas. Its the same fabric of friendliness, plus the great weather and coffee, thats always made anyone feel comfortable in Bangalore. (If you travel across Karnataka, which I have, you see the amazing fusion of multiple languages, foods, colours, smells, thoughts, terrain that Karnataka is)
The only threat I see to our "heritage" is the strong demand to conform to sameness – be it for Hindi or community or ethnicity or whatever. Its in fact least virulent in Karnataka, and just a little stronger in Banglaore. Large swathes of the rest of the country are already unfaithful to our "culture" while pretending to defend it.
@Lokesh,
Hindi is not our National Language,India does not have a National Language,All the languages are official Languages.The problem is the notion which New comers carry that Hindi has to be known by everyone.They need to show tolerance rather than the locals.
@all who think this post is boring:
why do you read then? Move to the next post.
We have a problem. People got to talk. only then the views would come out. whether a solution emerges is another story. am really happy that such issues are discussed on metblogs.
I am a North Indian staying in Bangalore in last 7 years and i love it being here, more than the place where i was brought up. Love the people here and munching Idli in Malleshwaram grounds. I have never felt that any single kannadiga i met has issues with me coming and working here. On the other side i share my culture with them and know about the local culture. Currently i stay with 2 friends who are Kannadigas, no issue & all smiles.
Things are great.
Deepa avare,
I am a little confused about the point you are making about the "Bangalorean" in this post.
If you say that anyone who is standing on a place belonging to Bangalore, then yes it is acceptable to say that you are a bangalorean in terms of place.
In my view any person(maybe resident or non-resident) to say it proudly that you are a Bangalorean/Mangalorean or related to any place, he has to respect the language, imbibe some of the qualities and culture of the place.
Going with words, if in case i go to Rome i will be a Roman. I don’t think any Roman would be ready to accept that and neither would I. I would still be the same Bangalorean but I would surely respect their language and culture.
I don’t think anyone has to become a Bangalorean just because he is put up with a job in Bangalore. Any true blue bangalorean(as u say) for that matter would minimally expect people to respect the culture and language.
There has been mention about Hindi being used as a language of communication saying that it is the national language. There have been long debates about the national language and I am not going to discuss about this. But in my view South Indian states have been happy with its own native language because it has been in existence for much much longer time than Hindi and so not ready to accept Hindi as a means to communicate. I guess the residents of each of these state are happy conversing in their local language. Learning and speaking the native language would surely put a smile on the native people and would surely show respect for the person.
I guess it finally comes down to this – "Give respect and take respect".
And for those who thinks, Hindi is our national language and anyone who speaks hindi can expect everyone else to revert in hindi, here are some points to ponder:
India has a diverse list of languages spoken among different groups of people. The Constitution of India has stipulated the usage of English and Hindi to be the two languages of official communication for the union government. Additionally, it also classifies a set of 22 scheduled languages which are languages that can be officially adopted by different states for administrative purposes, and also as a medium of communication between the national and the state governments.
There is no such thing called India’s National Language mentioned in the constitution.
It is the common replacement for ‘official language of the union’. It is pretty clear that any talk of a national language falls outside the constitution. When we look at the list of national symbols there is no mention of national language. When it is matter of constitution what is not mentioned is not there.
If we refer to article 343, it clearly states that Hindi in devanagari script is an official language of the union of India along with English. This draws a clear picture since India has adopted a federal, republic model of governance, each state has the full authority and right to decide the modalities of governance and operation.
Further article 344 provides constitutional guarantee and provisions for promoting hindi as language of union. Though it was stipulated for 15 years, it is still in vogue with few amendments. Of course hindi is being promoted at the expense of tax payers money for no reasons which are meaningful now.
All the governements and Hindi speaking Indians are promoting the wrong notion of "Hindi is National Language" through the text books, Hindi prachara sabhe etc.This wrong notion has been inscribed into Hinid speaking people of India upto such a level that they are looking at those who don’t know Hindi as non Indian and they are making derogatory reamrks disrespecitng other citizens of India.
In those states that have embraced trilinguitic policy, students are being made to learn Hindi as one additional language mandatorily. This is not a necessity today. Majorly this is affecting the students of southern states. Going by that logic the Students of Hindi speaking states should learn one southern language mandatorily. But yes this is not proper and does not seem to be necessary. Making students learn Hindi mandatorily is also eually improper and does not seem to be be necessary any more. Yes for sure imposing Hndi has become a cash cow for the business men who are selling entertainedment, Hindi movies etc, since their reach is increasing. But aslas this is being done suppressing other languges. They are not complementary but becoming supplementory, indicating a untimely death for other languages if situation continues the same way. All these imposing of Hindi, increasing superirity complex of Hindiites and belittling of other languages are being done with the pretext of Hindi being national language. We are in a stage where we need to stop this and correct the worng doings, else the day is not far when the non Hindiites get into slavery again.
I would say India is a fine concept but has alot of implementation flaws.
After the unfortunate events of Mumbai earlier this month, popular media is ablaze with articles describing the events as against the Idea of India and pretty much what it calls as the triumph of regionalism over nationalism. Popular rhetoric, which wrongly labels any attempts at the development of and/or protection of the rights of any particular linguistic people as parochial, quickly snowballs into labeling the people and organizations involved as against the Idea of India.
It’s a pity that those who think of themselves as the saviors of the Idea of India have no clue what India is all about. No wonder they haven’t cared to clarify. These folks have no clue how a correct federal system works, have no clue what to do with all the linguistic and cultural diversity that lives and thrives in India. For them, diversity is but an unnecessary evil, an extra parameter to contend with amidst the "already many". Unknowingly, such people are trampling under their own feet the very India we all treasure.
The Sublime "Idea of India"
Let’s face it. As a political unit, India was carved out as a mechanism for bringing under the same banner hundreds of millions of peoples suffering under British oppression. Before independence from the British, there was no single India as a political unit for any reasonable amount of time under one ruler ever. We have always fought with our neighboring states over things all and sundry. Then what exactly is the Idea of India? Is there anything to India over and above being the sum total of its states? Is there anything naturally common to the different linguistic peoples of India over and above the fact that the constituent states are geographically contiguous and had a common enemy 60 years ago?
Sure, there is. There is no denying the fact that the very diverse cultures and languages of India have a common thread running amidst all the mind-boggling plurality, though there is a large variation in the level to which the thread has found acceptance in the different cultures and languages. Such was the universality of appeal of that common thread that it was received by the various linguistic peoples with open hearts, or sometimes even unawares, with hardly any opposition. Notwithstanding the large variation in acceptance, the common thread basically comprises of religious and spiritual scriptures, cultural customs and common linguistic features – which we will together call as sublime cultural aspects.
In short, the Idea of India at inception involved (a) a common enemy, and (b) sublime cultural aspects as the two adhesives binding us together. After sixty years of independence from the British and the coming of globalization, however, the adhesive property of the common enemy of the recent past has already diminished so much that India is left with only the more sublime common thread of cultural aspects as the only existing natural adhesive.
Flaws in the implementation of the "Idea of India"
Of the two adhesives above, the first one, viz., the existence of a common enemy before independence, had pretty much single-handedly defined the Indian system of governance and the definition of political India. It is an irony of India that the exact same system continues to exist even today as if in defiance of changed ground realities and external circumstances.
The positioning of the Hindi language as the only "official (Indian) language of India", as well as the absence of true federalism and consequent disproportionately high stakes for the central government in internal matters of the subscribing states – both constructs ill-begotten in a hurry – have polluted India.
Hindification has destroyed the very idea of unity in diversity and accorded a higher status and undue advantages to the speakers of that language. This, together with the constitutional right of all Indians to work and settle anywhere in India, has placed speakers of Hindi (and close-by languages) at an advantage over and above other linguistic peoples. When once you declare the knowledge of Hindi as a prerequisite for any central government job, it is natural for the speakers of that language to fill those jobs.
The states subscribing to any federation of states do so for personal material gain and for not any spiritual reasons. It’s as simple as that, and India is no exception. In an environment which does not treat the subscribing peoples as equals but instead accords a higher status to one people over the rest, songs of the sublimity of the Idea of India start to sound like the harsh calls of a predatory bird! Who can care to appreciate the beauty of the common sublime thread of culture when the harsh reality is that you are not being treated as an equal? How long can anyone continue to sing the praise of the Idea of India from his heart when the harsh reality is that he is being considered as a second-grade citizen when it comes to employment?
In short, although the Idea of India is fine, there are flaws in the implementation of that idea. It is these implementation flaws which linguistic groups oppose, and not the sublime common thread of culture.
Confusing the idea with its flawed implementation
Most commentators on the Mumbai incident earlier this month in particular, and any event spanning only one linguistic people in general, share one common confusion. That is the confusion between the Idea of India and One flawed implementation of that Idea.
Their intellectual bankruptcy forces them to fail to recognize the two as different. Whereas it is true that the different linguistic states of India are struggling to survive and flourish, it is untrue that an assertion of their rights is against the Idea. It is only against the flawed implementation of that idea which considers them an inferior people who need to change in order to become true Indians.
Among these commentators exist such jokers as can stuff into their Idea of India symbols such as the constitution of India (forgetting that it is amendable), the national flag, the national anthem, as well as the national bird! They argue that because these symbols exist, and because there exists an implementation of the Idea of India (albeit with faults) all diversity should be ironed out. They argue that Kannadigas should be happy for Biharis who take away their jobs because they are Indians too, because both Kannadigas and Biharis have a common constitution, anthem, flag and bird!
It is high time they start appreciating the difference between ideas and implementations. It’s high time they start appreciating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: food, clothing, shelter and employment have to come in before sublime theories can be appreciated – especially theories which profess that you have to give up your food, clothing, shelter and employment!
The road ahead
India has a great future. But to get there, quite a few systemic wrongs have to be corrected. The rhetoric that anything related to Kannadigas or Marathis alone is "parochial" does not help us get there. It only hurts. The whole dialogue needs to consider that every state is in the federation expecting a win-win. We the different linguistic peoples of India have many common challenges to overcome. We all have to solve problems of corruption, of bad governance, of education, of employment, of poverty, of developing our own languages. When steps are taken to wipe out diversity, unity itself tends to be threatened in a federation of states which has been formed with the promise of unity in diversity. There is much synergy possible when diversity is celebrated and not ironed out. There is much synergy possible when the good practices in every state are replicated across India.
The Idea of India is in line with this. But is today’s Implementation of India?
@Rajshekar
You make a lot many assumptions in your analysis. Yes – the implementation of the idea of India is surely not perfectly done.
Nobody said that the basis needs are secondary to the national this or that. Its only that the idea of "outsiders coming and stealing our jobs" is often a red herring, and and easy target, the real issues lie elsewhere. Diversity of thought, capital, skills and indeed, immingration, has often caused places across the world to accelerate growth.
Nobody mentioned the constitution as a symbol – but only as a set of laws we’re supposed to live by rather than "decrees" passed by assorted messiahs representing one section or another. Laws may be sought to be amended, but are laws in the meantime!
"Intellectual bankruptcy", "jokers" etc – these help the debate how? You do make some strong arguments, but by deriding the commentators, those are likely to be lost in the raising of the pitch and overall cacophony.
Diversity must be celebrated for sure – and thats without threats, preconditions or the "demand" for "respect".
Incidentally, having lives in Bangalore for 12 years, Karnataka has surely nothing to do with anything "parochial" and therein lies its strength.
I don’t know enough about Maharashtra, but one can imagine a few fringe voices hijacking the agenda (wrongly) on the entire state’s behalf. One’s just got to see that the whole thing is about whos-the-more-pwerful-heir-to-the-Thackeray-throne. Attaching any "greater" meaning to it is to play along with a few people’s selfish motivations.
@Rajshekar
You make a lot many assumptions in your analysis. Yes – the implementation of the idea of India is surely not perfectly done.
Nobody said that the basis needs are secondary to the national this or that. Its only that the idea of "outsiders coming and stealing our jobs" is often a red herring, and and easy target, the real issues lie elsewhere. Diversity of thought, capital, skills and indeed, immingration, has often caused places across the world to accelerate growth.
Nobody mentioned the constitution as a symbol – but only as a set of laws we’re supposed to live by rather than "decrees" passed by assorted messiahs representing one section or another. Laws may be sought to be amended, but are laws in the meantime!
"Intellectual bankruptcy", "jokers" etc – these help the debate how? You do make some strong arguments, but by deriding the commentators, those are likely to be lost in the raising of the pitch and overall cacophony.
Diversity must be celebrated for sure – and thats without threats, preconditions or the "demand" for "respect".
Incidentally, having lived in Bangalore for 12 years, Karnataka has surely nothing to do with anything "parochial" and therein lies its strength.
I don’t know enough about Maharashtra, but one can imagine a few fringe voices hijacking the agenda (wrongly) on the entire state’s behalf. One’s just got to see that the whole thing is about whos-the-more-powerful-heir-to-the-Thackeray-throne. Attaching any "greater" meaning to it is to play along with a few people’s selfish motivations.
Deepa,
I never said that tolerance is bad. But why does every single person tell us, the kannadigas, to continue to be tolerant. Go tell the rest of India also to be tolerant of each other.
Chennai and other cities did not lose anything by being intolerant. While we Bangaloreans are leading a hellish life by becoming tolerant. Read the other article posted today on all the bad things about Bangalore.
it is because we were stupidly tolerant that IT HAS BECOME DIFFICULT TO LIVE IN OUR OWN CITY AND SINCE THIS IS OUR HOMETOWN AND BIRTHPLACE, WE CANNOT MOVE ANYWHERE ELSE.
The media has been unanimous in its condemnation of Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and rightfully so. Because violence is never the right means to any end.
But what is the root cause that makes one group of people attack another group of people? What has caused this violent outburst from some of the Marathi people? And why are North Indians being targeted? Note that in this context, we use the term "North Indians" to refer only to those from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the groups who are targeted by the MNS.
Is it because North Indians are the most prosperous community in Maharashtra? Far from it. The Gujaratis, Parsis and Marwaris have always controlled the economy of Mumbai, but they are not targeted.
On the contrary, is it because North Indians are the least prosperous, and therefore the most vulnerable targets? Once again, far from it. The poor in Mumbai include not only Biharis, but also Tamils, Telugus, Bengalis and Assamese, yet they are not targeted.
The root cause lies in an element of North Indian behaviour which none of the other communities in India have. An imperialistic attitude which dictates that all Indians should speak their language and follow their culture, while they in turn need not reciprocate. It’s quite common to find North Indians living for many years in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata or the North East without learning the local language. To compound the problem, some North Indian individuals belittle the local culture. Some North Indian businessmen in Assam are known to follow ruthless tactics that make their Assamese labourers suffer. The prominent place of Uttar Pradesh in Indian politics could be another reason for the others to perceive an imperialistic attitude. Not to mention the Indian government’s institutionalisation of Hindi imposition, which gives a perverse justification to the imperialistic attitude of the Hindi-speakers.
In the case of Mumbai, the North Indians have succeeded in transforming it into a predominantly Hindi-speaking city, an honorary part of North India. They rarely learn Marathi, and sometimes mock the Marathi people as lazy and unsuccessful. Marathis have so far been subservient to the North Indians, speaking their language and letting their culture take root in Maharashtra. But resentment has slowly built up, and Raj Thackeray is simply exploiting the sentiments of the average Marathi.
On the contrary, the Gujaratis, Marwaris, Parsis and South Indians have mostly learnt Marathi. They practise their culture in the confines of Matunga or the Parsi Colony, but don’t impose it on the Marathis. Since the Marathi manoos (Marathi common man) does not have any resentment against these communities, there is nothing for Raj Thackeray to exploit.
Arresting Raj Thackeray and his goons is not a long-term solution. Accusing the Marathi people of parochialism is also not the answer. First of all, Marathis are not parochial. They have never gone to Uttar Pradesh and asked the locals to speak in Marathi. Crying wolf about the MNS is not going to help. All these address the symptoms, not the disease. The disease is North Indian imperialism. That has to be addressed.
A misguided sense of patriotism has allowed the Hindi-speaking culture to be promoted as the supposed "national" culture. "National integration" is the most misused term in Indian politics. It has been wrongly equated with accepting North Indian domination meekly. This meekness is viewed as a virtue, and anyone who refuses to be meek is labeled as parochial, chauvinistic, and anti-national. The Tamils have always been called anti-national, just because they opposed (and continue to oppose) the "national language". Now the same anti-national label has been bestowed upon the Marathis because they want to preserve their own culture in their own state!
Are Marathis the only people who resent North Indian imperialism? Not at all. North Indian imperialism is the root cause of the North Indian – South Indian divide, That was the root cause of the now-defunct Sikh separatism. That is the root cause of continued separatism in Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. That is the root cause of the violence in Assam, where Marwari businessmen are attacked. The Marathis are simply the latest in a long line.
To avoid such violence and tensions from erupting in every part of the country, Indians need to weed out North Indian imperialism. The North Indians need to change their attitude. The other Indians need to stand their ground.
India needs to follow the Singapore model. The communal harmony of Singapore has been ensured by the sensible way the Singapore Government has managed diversity. Malay was made the national language only ceremonially. The majority of Singaporeans do not know Malay, and are not expected to know it. The constitution gives equal importance to English and three other languages, each corresponding to the three communities of Singapore. Instead of following the melting pot model where diversity is minimized, Singapore follows the mosaic model, where each component retains its unique identity and also becomes part of a beautiful whole. There is no reason for any community to feel they have been given a raw deal. Naturally, you don’t find communal tensions in Singapore.
India showed it can be done, when it decided not to have a national religion. It is possible for India to decide it doesn’t need a national language. Indeed, a national language and its associated nationalised culture are causing tensions to this very day. Unless India does away with North Indian imperialism, it is destined to live a turbulent life of communal tensions. National integration can never be achieved by taking a regional culture, calling it national, expecting everyone to embrace it, and marginalizing the other regional cultures. The Maharashtra violence should serve as a warning to the Indian government and to ordinary Indians, that India’s model for national integration is flawed. But from what I see, India is not heeding the warning. India is conveniently blaming a few men, and ignoring the root cause. If India continues to miss the obvious, it is destined to suffer more communal tensions.
Wow, this post has generated a very civil flame war of sorts.
One simple point – in New York City, or anywhere else in the U.S. the prevailing culture very simply demands that all immigrants learn and speak English. This doesn’t always happen of course, and many "ghettos" or communities of immigrants continue to use their own language exclusively. New York City tolerates this, but the language of recognized commerce is English (when not conducted amongst people within a community itself) & money.
So where does that leave Bangalore ? Most people who come to live there do not feel any obligation to learn or speak in Kannada. And so the "original" Bangalore does not retain control over its culture. Wheras the original NYC somehow retained its control over its language. I must admit that NYC allowed its culture to develop willy-nilly. But there again, one can say that the original culture of Manhattan or NYC was practiced by those who never had power or authority. So those who came over and took the power, also wiped out the indeginous culture to create their own multi-culture of tolerance and diversity.
What would a New York American Indian say about the current New York culture ? Would he not bemoan the loss of his own ? Perhaps that’s where Kannadigas are today. They can see that their city is being taken over. The economic movers and shakers of Bangalore are not Kannada speakers. And thus they are losing power. If they want to take power back into their hands, they must insist on the upholding of their culture to the newbies. If they want to look to the future of a megacity with unlimited potential and vibrancy, then they should be willing to give up their culture in lieu of the new.
Newcomers should attempt to learn and adapt to Kannada culture, as should the Kannadigas welcome and give the newbies a chance to do so. If all Kannadigas would insist on speaking only in Kannada, and being tolerant of newcomers’ efforts to reply back in Kannada, then 2 things would happen:
1) Those who didn’t speak Kannada would suddenly feel uncomfortable and less "at home" in Bangalore.
2) Many more folks would be forced to and therefore end up speaking and learning the language.
Same goes for the culture as a whole.
Wow, this post has generated a very civil flame war of sorts.
One simple point – in New York City, or anywhere else in the U.S. the prevailing culture very simply demands that all immigrants learn and speak English. This doesn’t always happen of course, and many "ghettos" or communities of immigrants continue to use their own language exclusively. New York City tolerates this, but the language of recognized commerce is English (when not conducted amongst people within a community itself) & money.
So where does that leave Bangalore ? Most people who come to live there do not feel any obligation to learn or speak in Kannada. And so the "original" Bangalore does not retain control over its culture. Wheras the original NYC somehow retained its control over its language. I must admit that NYC allowed its culture to develop willy-nilly. But there again, one can say that the original culture of Manhattan or NYC was practiced by those who never had power or authority. So those who came over and took the power, also wiped out the indeginous culture to create their own multi-culture of tolerance and diversity.
What would a New York American Indian say about the current New York culture ? Would he not bemoan the loss of his own ? Perhaps that’s where Kannadigas are today. They can see that their city is being taken over. The economic movers and shakers of Bangalore are not Kannada speakers. And thus they are losing power. If they want to take power back into their hands, they must insist on the upholding of their culture to the newbies. If they want to look to the future of a megacity with unlimited potential and vibrancy, then they should be willing to give up their culture in lieu of the new.
Newcomers should attempt to learn and adapt to Kannada culture, as should the Kannadigas welcome and give the newbies a chance to do so. If all Kannadigas would insist on speaking only in Kannada, and being tolerant of newcomers’ efforts to reply back in Kannada, then 2 things would happen:
1) Those who didn’t speak Kannada would suddenly feel uncomfortable and less "at home" in Bangalore.
2) Many more folks would be forced to and therefore end up speaking and learning the language.
Same goes for the culture as a whole. This is how New York City established its link language as English after all.
@Ramana
Going by your own arguments, the migrants from South India must’ve done something similar earlier for Balasaheb to have targetted them then. Over a 100 more years, I guess everyone would’ve had their turn at behaving arrogantly.
Why misuse someone’s agony and misfortune to make divisive, political points?
@sameer,
Yes the South Indians did make a mistake in Mumbai in early 60s by promoting their own people to all levels of employment and that led to the backlash. Soon they realized their mistake and learnt Marathi, become an integral part of Maharashtrian Culture. I know alot of Shettys there who have virtually forgotten their mother tongue and have accepted MArathi as their mother tongue. Although, I don’t ask anyone to forget their mother tongue and learn Kannada. I request non-kannadigas to use and preserve their mother tongue at their homes while using Kannada outside their home. This way, definately this ill-effect creeping in everybody’s mind will come to an end.
No tolerance, Only revolution…
Kick Outsiders…