The migrant Maharashtrian

This was the tiltle of wednesday's Times of India in Hyderabad. The secoind page full. Never realized that this topic would ever come. Although the article talks about Hyderabad's tolerance towards every community, its an eye opener to the fact that there are many migrant Maharashtrian all over the country. I hope this hatred does not cause the migrant Maharashtrian the heat as North Indian felt in our good old Bombay.

I have pasted the content below.:

At 14, Manohar Rao Kulkarni had never heard of Hyderabad but was told by his friends in Kanerwadi, a small village in Osmanabad, that it was a land

of opportunities, promising both good education and jobs. About 70 years after he ran away from home, Kulkarni has not once regretted boarding that train to Hyderabad, a city that gave him education and later a job as a revenue official. "He still says that his life changed after coming to Hyderabad. He spent his entire life here and warmed up to the city despite not having any relatives in the city," says Saroj Kulkarni, Manohar Rao's daughter.

There are scores of Maharashtrians in Hyderabad like Kulkarni who came here in search of a livelihood. Much like the thousands of people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who gravitate towards Mumbai for work, many from the arid Marathwada region of the erstwhile Hyderabad state drifted to the city to earn a living.

Marathwada was part of the former Hyderabad state of India until May 1, 1960, when it was transferred to Bombay state (which in 1960 was divided into Maharastra and Gujarat). "Hyderabad was the capital (of the Nizam's Hyderabad state) since 1724 and people from Marathwada were bound to come here (for opportunities)," says D P Joshi, president of Marathi Sahitya Parishad.

City old timers note how "non-locals'' such as Maharashtrians were being appointed in the Nizam's army or as senior officials and teachers then. Marathis Outside Maharashtra Many Maharashtrians who have lived in the city for long cannot fathom how those responsible for brewing the 'outsider' controversy in Maharashtra have forgotten their own community members located in other parts of the country, particularly in a city like Hyderabad where they are present in sizable numbers. "We have been living here for generations. We speak Marathi and Telugu and are fluent in Urdu.


We don't feel we are living in a different culture at all and to date we didn't once think of ourselves as 'outsiders'," says theatre personality Bhaskar Shewalkar.

He notes that people like Raj Thackeray should think of Maharashtrians outside Maharashtra before beating up innocent people from other states. "In fact, in many Marathi speaking households in the city, Telugu and Hindi are the preferred languages of communication," points out Saroj Kulkarni, who teaches Hindi in the Government Girls High School, Kachiguda.


It is families such as these who are worried for the first time. N V Wanker is one of them. In 1958, when he came to the city with a railways job in hand, he never knew that Hyderabad would soon become his home for the rest of his life. And after 48 years, he cannot think of living anywhere else in the country." I initially stayed on because of my work and my sons education. But the city is so peaceful and the people are so accommodating that I can't even think of shifting base now," says the 70-year-old who lives in Tarnaka, an area known for its strong Marathi population.

But like many others from his community Wanker has now developed a feeling of insecurity because of the treatment being meted out to North Indian workers in Mumbai. "I will not be surprised if people here also decide to take revenge like what the Biharis are facing now.


If Maharashtrians can ask people from other places to leave their city then why not the locals here? And if that happens, people like us who have sold off everything in Maharashtra to settle down here will have nowhere to go," says a worried Wanker. Of Grumbling Locals & Pragmatism DP Joshi says that such rumblings in the country aren't surprising at all. In fact, he says in 1952-53 there was a bitter struggle between the 'mulkis' and 'non-mulkis' in Hyderabad, the locals resenting the 'outsiders' having gobbled up their jobs. "The resentment was there... be it in the highest aristocracy or in government jobs. Locals from Hyderabad resented the non-locals and this problem was there for the last 100 years from the time of the fifth and the sixth Nizam," Joshi says.


He notes that the Nizam's government wanted to modernize the state and was importing people from outside, assuming that the local population wasn't as proficient. "This (local and non-local fight) took a violent turn in October 1953, with locals asking for jobs. The then home minister, Digambar Rao Bindu, himself a Maharashtrian settled the matter tactfully and it appeared solved," Joshi says, adding, "I am a Hyderabadi and for generations we are part and parcel of the city.


These problems (resistance from locals) occur in Indian society but it has taken an unnecessary violent turn this time," he says. V M Pandhari Pandey who completed a comfortable 25 years of stay in the city this year is, however, in the least threatened by the recent happenings and feels that it is primarily career prospects that carry people from one city to another and no one can restrict that."


In all these years, I have never been treated like an outsider. People are rather nice here and I don't see them even trying to prevent migration of any sort in the future," says the professor with Osmania University adding that," it is only the handiwork of politicians that is causing such unrest in Mumbai.


There is a famous saying in Marathi that goes like this: He vishwachi maaze ghara (this universe is my home), then how can people from that same community not let anyone else live on their land?" The Peace Loving Marathi Manoos The same thought bothers the Bhave family, living in the city for around 50 years now.

They feel that Marathis are generally very peace loving people and are disgusted at their latest display of hatred. However, unlike Wanker they feel that Hyderabad is too good a city to disown them ever.


"What is happening in Mumbai at present will have no impact anywhere else in the country. Our stay here has been more than pleasant so far and I am sure it will continue to be the same in the future," says both Manohar Bhave and his wife Asha Bhave, as they go on to talk about the niceties of the city.

"The cost of living here is very low as compared to Mumbai, so we can think of leading a comfortable retired life.


The lifestyle is nice and slow paced. And above all no one seems to be nurturing any grudge against anyone. What else can you ask for?" they say. Ditto Vijaya Navale who was born and brought up in Hyderabad and thinks leaving the city is out of the question." Pune and Aurangabad are just holiday spots for us now but this is where home is and these are the people I more relate to," she says rather proudly.

IN SUPPORT OF RAJ THACKERAY

IN SUPPORT OF RAJ THACKERAY................

Yes, we all should support Raj Thackeray and take his initiative aheadby doing more...

1. We should teach our kids that if he is second in class, don'tstudy harder.. just beat up the student coming first and throw him outof the school

2. Parliament should have only Delhiites as it is located in delhi

3. Prime-minister, president and all other leaders should only be from Delhi

4. No Hindi movie should be made in Bombay. Only Marathi.

5. At every state border, buses, trains, flights should be stoppedand staff changed to local men

6. All Maharashtrians working abroad or in other states should besent back as they are SNATCHING employment from Locals

7. Lord Shiv, Ganesha and Parvati should not be worshiped in ourstate as they belong to north (Himalayas)


8. Visits to Taj Mahal should be restricted to people from UP only

9. Relief for farmers in Maharashtra should not come from centrebecause that is the money collected as Tax from whole of India, so whyshould it be given to someone in Maharashtra?

10. Let's support Kashmiri Militants because they are right inkilling and injuring innocent people for the benefit of their stateand community..

11. Let's throw all MNCs out of Maharashtra, why should they earnfrom us? We will open our own Maharashtra Microsoft, MH Pepsi and MHMarutis of the world

12. Let's stop using cellphones, emails, TV, foreign Movies and dramas. James Bond should speak Marathi (Baand... mazha naav Jamiya Baand... ha ha ha)

13. We should be ready to die hungry or buy food at 10 times higherprice but should not accept imports from other states

14. We should not allow any industry to be setup in Maharashtrabecause all machinery comes from outside

15. We should STOP using local trains... Trains are not manufacturedby Marathi manoos and Railway Minister is a Bihari

16. Ensure that all our children are born, grow, live and die withoutever stepping out of Maharasthra, then they will become true Marathis



Jai Maharashtra !

Update on Murder case on Raj

Andheri CCTV footage shows that it was an accident. So lucky fella Raj.
This information is on Faultfinding's News paper.

Murder Case Raj Thackeray

Looks like Raj will be in Trouble this time.. or may be not ..


Raj Thackeray may now face a murder charge after the father of Pawan Kumar, the youth who was allegedly killed by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists in Mumbai, filed a case against the party chief in a Bihar court on Friday.
Pawan's father Jagdish Prasad filed a murder case against Thackeray under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the court of chief judicial magistrate in Biharsharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda, about 100 km from here, court sources said.
Prasad has accused Thackeray and MNS activists of killing his son in Mumbai last on Sunday.
Prasad has requested the court to charge Thackeray with the murder of his son.
Pawan, a resident of Bara-Khurd village in Nalanda, was one of the hundreds of students from Bihar appearing for a railway recruitment exam in Maharashtra Sunday when MNS activists attacked them.
The son of a poor farmer, Pawan had hoped to improve his family's standard of living by getting a government job. However, his dead body was brought back to Bihar Tuesday to be cremated at his village.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a compensation of Rs 150,000 to Pawan's family.

My City : Bombay/Mumbai

Bombay was a city that many of us were very proud to be associated with. Most of the bollywood flicks glorified Mumbai one way or the other. We just love to read about Bombay in web or print.

The city of dream , the pace at which it moves.. the mega city... one can feel the energy ..

The humid climate .. the rush in the train .... the beautiful BEST buses....when compared to other cities in India. I was bron here and its been three decade now... The sea all over ... the band stand , the marine drive .. hanging garden... wide roads .. the best public transport in the country .. ample jobs ( check mid-day wednesday paper ). I thought this is the most happening place in the world.. I somehow belived that this is the most tolerant city. I know most of the indian culture thanks to the multi culture environment Mumbai provided me.

When I was in Chennai, I understood that eating out at a road side stall is not cool. In mumbai I have seen BMW's and Mercs stopping by a road side... everyone seem to be equal and just busy with their work . I never thought about North Indian's South Indian's.. it never occured to me that they are not supposed to be here and they belonged to some other distant land... Media especially the electronic one destroyed my child like belief. Small time Political parties are taking this city as ransom. Suddenly Mumbai becomes a Marathi only zone .. I want to fly away from this city.



Its like a broken heart situation.. you love the city but you just cannot take it any more. Also I get a feeling that the city does not need me .. very funny feeling ... but everytime I am remineded tha I am from Mumbai.. I fall in love again ... and plan a trip to my home. Bombay.

Mumbai is apart of my Identity and Some politician are really messing up my identity.

But as mumbai has taken all things in its stride .. i hope even this phase will pass away.