Social scientists have
argued that Raj Thackeray, the Maharashtra Nava Nirman Sena leader,
will fail to sustain or get popular support for his recent movement in
Mumbai against migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh seeking
livelihood in the country’s financial capital. The argument is premised
on their assessment that the cultural, social and economic milieu that
prevailed in Bombay in the 1960s is no longer the same in Mumbai in the
first decade of the 21st century.
The Marathi angst that was present four decades ago due to the
perceived threat from south Indians cornering the city’s most
remunerative jobs (and which Bal Thackeray used to build a political
base for his party) is not there in Mumbai today to be exploited by Raj
Thackeray, it has been argued. Also, migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar are mostly doing only those jobs in the city (driving a taxi
or vending vegetables) which are by and large shunned by the Marathis,
who have moved up in life and therefore will not ordinarily look at
them as an option.
On the contrary, the average middle-class Marathi will look at a north
Indian migrant worker as fulfilling some of the basic economic needs of
Mumbai, even though he may frown upon the quality of the service he
gets from the latter. Thus, the social scientists have concluded, Raj
Thackeray will fail to strike a chord with the Marathi middle class,
the way his uncle had managed to do and that lack of support will be
strong enough to put an end to the current movement against north
Indian migrant workers.
This assessment may not be correct because the diagnosis of why Raj
Thackeray launched this movement seems to be flawed. It might appear
that the Maharashtra Nava Nirman Sena leader launched this movement to
protect the Marathis or create more job opportunities for them. This
may not be entirely true. A more important reason for launching the
movement was his growing insecurity as a Marathi leader. With the
demographic profile in Mumbai, in particular, changing rapidly, a
Marathi leader in that city has good reasons to feel threatened. It is
this risk perception that seems to be the driving force behind his
movement.
Note that while defending what they did in Mumbai, Raj Thackeray and
his associates are pointing their fingers at leaders like Amar Singh
and Lalu Prasad. They have argued that Mr Singh and Mr Prasad are
trying to create a political base for themselves by exploiting the
sentiments of a large number of north Indians engaged in different jobs
in Mumbai. Their real anger is against these leaders from Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar. In fact, one of the statements from Mr Thackeray has clearly
suggested that these leaders should confine their politics to their own
states and refrain from expanding their territory.
It is a fight for constituency. Raj Thackeray and other Marathi leaders
have no objection to workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh living in
Mumbai to earn their livelihood. The problem starts when these north
Indian workers become a potential vote bank and political leaders from
the north descend on the city to build a base for themselves or their
parties. If leaders like Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati
refrain from exploiting the large presence of people from north India
in Mumbai for political gains, the movement against migrant north
Indian workers in India’s financial capital will die down on its own.
Already suggestions have been made to the effect that north Indian
migrant workers are free to live in Mumbai, but they must do so as
Mumbaikars and, therefore, not as a vote bank for politicians from the
north.
But it is naive to believe that political leaders from north India will
stay away from Mumbai because the potential political gains are too
tempting for anyone to ignore. Thus, Raj Thackeray’s movement will also
gain impetus and even though the north Indian migrant worker serves a
specific economic purpose (providing cheap labour), their continued
presence in the city will become an issue because it is after all a
fight for exploiting a vote bank.
In many ways, this is a story that is likely to be repeated in many
other parts of India if our political leaders do not mend their ways. A
few years ago, the appointment of Sheila Dikshit as Delhi’s chief
minister had become a big issue even within the Congress party because
she was not seen as a politician hailing from Delhi. Would the scenario
be any different if a leader from Orissa or Bihar, for that matter,
were to exploit the large number of migrant workers from either of
these states living in Kolkata for political gains?
Sixty years after India’s independence, migrant workers in the country
are still seen as potential vote banks and political leaders do not
still miss an opportunity to exploit them. Today, Raj Thackeray sees
his political base shrinking as a result of north leaders trying to
exploit the sizeable presence of north Indians in Mumbai. But if he
gets an opportunity like Lalu Prasad, he too would not hesitate to play
the same game.
http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=BO&autono=313538
Business Standard Ltd. Copyright &
Disclaimer.
