Municipal Patriotism

Raj Thackeray wants North Indians out of Mumbai. His uncle Bal Thackeray had wanted the South Indians out of the then-Bombay in 1967. What will happen if this trend spreads? Sholapur would want the Kannadigas out. Nagpur would want the Hindi-speaking people out.

But there are Maharashtrians living in the other states of India. So, Indore and Gwalior would want the Maharashtrians to leave. Gulbarga and Hubli would show the door to the Maharashtrians. May be, even Belgaum. There are several thousand Maharashtrians who are well-settled in Uttarakhand. 'Quit Uttarankhand' notice might be served on those Maharashtrians.

If the other states start having a look at who the outsiders in their respective states are, then Tamilians will have to leave Bangalore. May be, also Palghat in Kerala. The Andhraites will have to leave Chennai. The Malayalees will have to leave Coimbatore and probably also Kanyakumari. Kannadigas will be driven out of Kasargode in Kerala. Tamilians will be pushed out of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. Bengalis will have to say good-bye to Jamshedpur and Guwahati. May be, even Pondicherry. Gujaratis will have to quit Mumbai ; Marwaris Kolkata and so many other places. Punjabis will be unsettled from several places. Is this the shape of things to come? Does any one in his or her right frame of mind wish for such a massive cross-migration and the resultant refugee problems?

If the world at large copies this very Indian poison, what would happen? Indians and Pakistanis will be thrown out of U.K. and the Middle East. The Chinese will have to leave Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and several other countries. The Turks and Italians will be unwelcome to stay in Germany. The Algerians and Moroccans will be asked to go from France. The Indians of Goan origin will not be able to stay on in Portugal. The English will not be able to continue to live in Zimbabwe. The Germans in Namibia will have to pack their bags and return to their 'Vaterland'. Almost all the ethnic groups except those of European origin will leave the United States.

Of course, such a nightmarish situation has no chance of arising. Thackerays are still in a hopeless minotiry in the world including India. They are , in fact, a vanishing tribe in the global village that the world is fast becoming. Hopefully, their own followers will soon come to their senses and force the Thackerays to leave politics, if not Mumbai.