Saturday, February 23, 2008

Mumbai

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 thackeray has influenced mumbai like fidel castro has influenced cuba with his revolutionary attitude.both these leaders have contrasting issues in perspectives but 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 on to the picture.

Comparisons were drawn between raj and balasaheb as soon as raj came on to the scene as the right hand man of balasaheb and i believe those comparisons have been made rightly so because they both hasve 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 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 similiar stand on south indians)

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 balasahed possesses even now.

having said so much about both these men i would also like to take a stand on their views which demands maharashtra to 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.Mumbai/maharashtra is one place which is 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 calamties be it blasts or floods or riots mumbai has faced it all with a smile.

I strongly oppose the idea of maharashtra becoming a completely marathi state coz 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 sametime there is a sort of control that would prevail in the city which would help the city maintain a certain level of professionalism as well.

what both the thackerays have failed to notice are the above mentioned points i have made.

only if both the thackerays would put some sensibility over their passion for the city the city would truly be the worlds best in the true sense!

and having said all this i truly feel that what the thackerays have done for the city and state no other leader has done.