Marathi: Is It Threatened

Threat to Marathi has become one of the biggest poll issues in the forthcoming Legislative elections. And with Raj Thakre at the helm of this affair, the matter is not likely to die down soon. The matter is not a new one and actually was started by his uncle, Balasaheb Thakre way back in 1966. Since, then the matter had not died but was not an important matter of concern until it all flared up with the starting of a new political outfit, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, in 2007 by Raj.
But is it really threatened? I have been always troubled by this matter and am just trying to put what I think about this.
One truth which nobody accepts is that Marathis are reticent to share their culture. You would find all sorts of Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Rajasthani, South Indian delicacies in most restaurants in the country as well as abroad. You are sure to find a Punjabi Dhaba, a Udupi Restaurant and a Bengali Sweet Mart in every big city throughout the country. But it’s rare to find Kolhapuri chicken, Shrikhand or Puran Poli outside Maharashtra. You won’t find a restaurant specializing in Marathi food if you go to some other big city outside the state. The only food that has become popular is panipuri but even it’s not called by the same name everywhere! Have we ever thought that we can get a Kashmiri shawl, a Kanjeevaram, a Tangail or a Benarasi in Maharashtra but it’s difficult to get a “Paithani” outside? Most people actually don’t know about it! We witness festivals like Bengali Durga Puja, Onam, Pongal, Chhath, Baisakhi ans what else right here in our Marathi cities. I know Durga Pujas in Nagpur which are being organized for about 70 years and have seen Ramlila in Pune. But the greatest Marathi festival, Ganesh Puja is non-existent outside Maharashtra. It’s still in the nascent stages in the national capital. It’s not that we don’t have enough Marathis outside but the true fact is they are not interested in spreading their culture. This kind of insular behaviour makes one susceptible of others. We must not forget that we have evolved from same Aryans who migrated here thousands of years ago. This way we have created a wall of suspicion and insularity around us. Thus whenever some crap brings the issue of cultural pollution, we straight way see what is being shown to us. We don’t know the North Indian culture and neither do they know ours! It’s time to change things. (The problem is global. We think the Europeans and Americans are uncultured and they think vice-versa).
The sheer negligence to Marathi in the cities is another factor which has led to the situation that the present day politicians are cashing on. Local people in cities are negligent about Marathi Cinema, art, music. People are actually ignorant about the extent of Maharashtra. People in west don’t know the existence of Gondia while people in Vidarbha don’t know where Karad is! Bid, Jalna, Parbhani, Osmanabad are not the names which crop up automatically when you count the districts in Maharashtra. It’s easy to fool people who are not aware of their surroundings. The politicians are totally Mumbai centric and they seldom think about what’s going elsewhere and when the need arises they simply bring out issues which are only valid in and around Mumbai. Media too has to be blamed as it hasn’t evolved itself beyond Mumbai and gives extensive coverage to this nonsense.
The immigration is not at all there in villages of Marathwada. People there haven’t seen much of a North-Indian yet and haven’t heard much Hindi outside Vividh Bharti. (I am not mentioning Television as electricity is scarce there!) It’s the cities like Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and Nagpur where you find people speaking in Hindi. Lack of opportunities and the standard of living has so much degraded in their states that they are forced to look for greener pastures. But the question is why always it’s Maharashtra and especially Mumbai. Why don’t people move to other states? The basic reason is the over development of Mumbai during British times. Also, the locals refrained from working in many areas. For example labourers are generally Chattisgarhis, Biharis and Oriyas. The supervisors are generally Keralians, Punjabis and Bengalis. Business for some reasons bloom in the hands of Gujaratis, Marwaris, Parsis and Sindhis. These are the areas the locals didn’t venture much. To add to that Mumbai has been always cosmopolitan and the language has been always more inclined towards Hindi (So, while Marwaris in Barabazar, Kolkata speak Bengali, their brethren in Mumbai don’t do that. But again you will find them doing the same in Pune i.e. they speak Marathi). This has helped people to settle here without unsettling their roots. One another reason is Bollywood. The biggest Hindi film industry is not in any Hindi speaking state but the tinsel town is here in Maharshtra. The forefathers of Hindi Cinema found it more conducive to be nurtured here instead of anywhere because of the amount of liberty they got here. Don’t forget even though, the cinema was started by Dadasaheb Phalke, a Marathi, it was nurtured by the Punjabis and the Bengalis in its initial stages. The charm of tinsel town has brought many youth to the city. Some have been successful and some have not. Nevertheless they have settled here. Same is the case with the people who came with the wish of making money.
It is true that the Railways examinations have been a bastion for UP and Bihar fellows but it has more to do with their sincere efforts and not with any favouritism. Isn’t it true that this job is never the first choice among Marathi youth? With the amount and standard of education available in the state, clerical jobs are not a favourite. Moreover Railways being a national property and each railway zone spreading into two or more states, the demand for giving jobs to locals is laughable. Even if the exam is held in Kalyan for Central Railways, the recruits will in future have to serve in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka if and when transferred. Railways have been a major factor for mass movement of people around the country. Biharis, Oriyas and Bengalis working for erstwhile South Eastern Railway (SER) have reached Maharashtra due to their work. And there’s something in the Maharashtrian soil which doesn’t allow you to go back once you move here. So, across the state you will find people from all the neighbouring states who once having arrived here have never went back! And they have never been a nuisance. Instead mixing of cultures has helped in making Maharashtra what it is! As Shahid Kapur’s character correctly says in Kaminey that the migrants are like “Sugar” which when added to the milk increases its sweetness.
Actually it is nothing more than a political gimmick. The tirade has started because the migrants have started nurturing political aspirations which has become unbearable for few. A political party has fielded some 30 or more migrants as their candidates in the forthcoming elections and this is unacceptable to a few. You would observe that the tirade is never against other non-marathi migrants as they are not politically active. The same happened when Sonia Gandhi was to become the PM!
Instead of fighting out we should maintain the linguistic unity and upheld the motto of “Unity of Diversity” for which our country is respected throughout the globe.
Also there should be steps taken to propagate Marathi in the state and in the country. Fairs propagating Maharashtrian culture (literature, cuisine, handicraft, art, music) should be organized in the state as well as in other states should be staged. The people should be made aware of their heritage. The media has a very big role to play in this. Its time they move beyond Mumbai and Pune and delve inside the state. Ganpati festival has to be celebrated pan India like Durga Puja. Learning Marathi should be made compulsory in all schools and all boards. It’s nothing new as it is in place in many states. In state level jobs more preference should be given to the locals (anyone who is a legal resident of the state irrespective of his mother tongue). The cold shoulder that is extended to non-marathis and the reticence shown in sharing the culture should be stopped by all and sundry. Until and unless the natives of Maharashtra don’t welcome people with a warm heart, the migrants will feel alienated and this trouble will continue. (It is not impossible as my parents make karanji, anarsa and chakli in every festival and our neighbours like the Bengali sweets. We share everything and they are my actual family. Without their support my parents wouldn’t have been able to live happily for 30 years in Maharashtra. To add to it, we are not going back!)
In the era of globalization, nothing can be claimed to be somebody’s own property. Can Sachin and Lata be labeled to be only Maharashtrians or Amitabh, Tatas and Ambanis should be labeled with migrant’s status only. These people have not only made Maharashtra proud but are national synonyms for rpide, success and development.
So, let’s break free the bonds and join hands to boot out the politicians who want to create linguistic differences. These are not only the enemy to the common man but also to the state and the country. Let’s join hands to make “Aapla Maharashtra”, the most prosperous and happy state in the country.
Jai Hind !!! Jai Maharashtra !!!