Regionalism at a glance

I'm really saddened by this entire MNS episode with their campaign "The Sons of The Soil" theory, "Jai Maharashtra" et all. And now with Shobhaa De supporting the cause, I'm actually quite revolted. I least expected her to support such a cause which only breeds disunity and in the times which we are living today we need to be as united as possible.

Firstly, I don't understand distinctions such as North Indian, South Indian, East Indians and then on basis of state names such as Maharashtrians, Kannadigas, Keralites etc. Secondly,categorizations are also made on the basis of your mother tongue. For instance, people will find it hard to believe that you're a South Indian if you can't speak a single tongue twisting South Indian language. According to the Indian Constitution, an Indian has the right to settle down in any state of their choice and work over there.
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I'm really saddened by this entire MNS episode with their campaign "The Sons of The Soil" theory, "Jai Maharashtra" et all. And now with Shobhaa De supporting the cause, I'm actually quite revolted. I least expected her to support such a cause which only breeds disunity and in the times which we are living today we need to be as united as possible.

Firstly, I don't understand distinctions such as North Indian, South Indian, East Indians and then on basis of state names such as Maharashtrians, Kannadigas, Keralites etc. Secondly,categorizations are also made on the basis of your mother tongue. For instance, people will find it hard to believe that you're a South Indian if you can't speak a single tongue twisting South Indian language. According to the Indian Constitution, an Indian has the right to settle down in any state of their choice and work over there. But no! these political parties want to take the maximum advantage of Indian mentality's definition of pride and honor and instigate such feelings of disunity amongst people on the basis of origin and language.

However I feel such a thing will fail to diminish Mumbai's spirit. I'm not a Maharashtrian but I've an association of a sort with that beautiful city. My mother and all her cousins were born and brought up in Mumbai, even my dad was born in Mumbai but after 5 years or so came down to Mangalore, my native place.  A lot of my mother's cousins have all settled in Mumbai for good as have my grandparents too. So going to Mumbai has been a regular affair. I have infact even studied there for 2 years. The best part of the city is the way it makes you feel that you're a part of it!Unlike Karnataka, you will never be treated as an outsider if you don't know the local language. As far as I know, the spirit of the people over there is unbreakable. They are really friendly and helpful. You just sort of blend instantly. No wonder it's called the City of Dreams. There are people from all walks of life who come there to realize their dreams. For instance, the Indian film industry, Bollywood...Will MNS outcast all these actors and condemn them for not being a Maharashtrians or rather overshadowing their glory??

In the past few decades, Mumbai and sometimes larger Maharashtra have witnessed a growing resentment towards South Indians and recently towards North Indians. There is also a recent movement towards compulsory use of Marathi language in Mumbai in places including the Municipal Corporation. This "Maharashtra for the Marathis" sub-nationalism or regionalism has been condemned by mainstream political parties such as Congress and BJP and Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has assured protection for both North and South Indian immigrants.

It's very imperative that people realize that this is a political gimmick that is feeding on people's emotions and their sense of being. It's also important that we first identify ourselves as Indians! When you go outside India and people know that you're an Indian, they are just going to start talking in Hindi (our national language) initially i.e if they know a line or two else they'll just stick to English which is nearly universal. They will never ask from which place you belong and specifically talk in that language or something like that.  Instead of looking at the big picture and considering our entire nation as one, we are busy bickering with our neighboring states. It's terribly sad that the picture of unity we show the entire world is flawed and internally being eaten and broken down, all at the hands of politics and people's false sense of pride originating from the place they hail.

Well...the last thing that our politicians can do is respect the Indian Constitution atleast and learn to be secular most importantly. Unless and until we defeat malices such as regionalism and communalism, true progress will never occur. Moreover, people should realize that generalizing an entire sect of people hailing from one region because of one bad act from one person is detrimental to the peace and harmony of the society.

To make a difference, take a trip down the memory lane and

• Recall what you studied in Civics.
• Respect the Indian Constitution.
• Respect and use the knowledge which you've gotten through education in a constructive, rational way.
• If you find it particularly hard to be secular, just keep your destructive opinions to yourself.
• If the aforementioned is unbearable, it's better to live in an uninhabited island where you can freely preach your views to the other living things there. If things get really bad and you've a strong urge to express, put a note in the bottle and throw it in the ocean!
• Do not poison the minds of innocent children by propagating regionalism and communalism.
• To always talk in your region's language when you're surrounded by people hailing from different places, in your region with your counterparts shows your lack of courtesy. Language first came into existence to enhance communication... not to fight over it and die or flaunt it everywhere.
• In a group of people who speak different languages, stick to a common language everyone can understand.
• Stop generalizing people. We never generalize for good things so don't generalize for the bad stuff either.
• Lastly, be well mannered and courteous no matter from where the person hails or what the person speaks. It is not fatal to be nice.

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