MAHARASHTRA:

FROM WHERE THIS CHAOS EMERGES?

Article By: Saeed Hameed; Translated by Khan Yasir

Monday, May 05, 2008:ViaMedia. MumbaiNews

RASHTRIYA SAHARA Urdu Daily Mumbai (India)

Analysis

 Maharashtra has become a laboratory for communal and politically opportunist forces. For the upcoming Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly polls various political experiments are being tested. In the wake of these experiments the situation of Maharashtra is becoming graver day by day. In 2002 Gujarat government has done many experiments in this field, as a result the Lok Sabha polls of 2004 and adjacent assembly polls were conducted in the heat of Gujarat riots. If the situation of Maharashtra is analyzed in this context it can be clearly observed that a plethora of political parties are bent upon making the state another laboratory like Gujarat. Experiments of social, political, communal and lingual engineering are being ardently conducted here. The fact that in all the political parties of Maharashtra there are chaos, divisions and factions, who dares to demand votes on "real issues"?  Who dares to demand votes on "performance"?

Therefore to strengthen the vote bank from backdoors, politics is being played in Maharashtra, experiments are made and Maharashtra is turned into a laboratory. Be it secular parties or communal, everybody is indulged in its own politics. Congress – NCP because the fact that it is in government for 9 years now - they are even leading party of ruling coalition, they are sweating to shame before facing the public eyes. On which issue votes could be demanded? Therefore "experiments" are made. It is said that Raj Thackrey is also a ploy of congress party. He has full aashirvad of congress-NCP coalition in unleashing a movement against the north Indians. The question arises that if Raj Thackrey shouts 'representing' the 'Marathi voice' who is going to suffer? The answer of this question can itself point towards the fact that who is behind Raj Thackrey.

One fact is engrained in the eyes of political commentators that when before three years Raj Thackrey had formed his "personal" party they were shocked that the new born party has adopted a secular ideology. The commentators who have a vigil eye over the career of Raj Thackrey are aware that in his voice, tone, selection of subject and mindset he is carbon copy of his uncle Bal Thackrey. They hoped that he will form another communal party with staunch 'marathi wadi' and staunch 'hindutva wadi' ideology. But he stunned everybody by adopting the name 'Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena' and a tiranga flag instead of bhagwa. He also desperately tried to follow the secular way but the outcome of last municipal polls 'opened' his eyes. He re-analysed and revised his political philosophy though he could not change the name and flag of the party two years later; he changed his policies and played the lingual trump card which his uncle had played forty years ago. The bizarre political upheaval that Maharashtra is experiencing, is a proof that history repeats itself. In 1960 to exterminate the influence of communists from the trademill union, taxi drivers and hawkers of Mumbai, congress leaders of Yashwant Rao Chauhan , V.P. Naik and S.K. Patil's repute raised Bal Thackrey. The aim of congress was to alienate the Marathi labourers from labour movement. In short to thwart the communist vote bank congress raised a menace named Shiv Sena. After 40 years which proved deadly even for the congress itself. Today congress is repeating the same strategy to divide the Marathi vote-bank of Shiv Sena. Promotion of Raj Thackrey is also an instrument of the same ploy, thread of law and order is dismantled – same had happened forty years ago when madrasis and other south Indians were ransacked.

In the month of February the hooligans of Raj Thackrey unleashed the bloody violence and arson, many a cases of murders were also reported for example in Nasik where two people paid with their lives. Cases were registered under (302), because all this was a direct result of the fomenting comments of Raj Thackrey these incidents could have been easily proved to be as a 'ploy' of the Raj Thackrey but that never happened. He could also have been booked under the clauses related to the fomentation of violence like (120) (A) if such bold steps would have been taken the law and order situations could easily have been restored. But unfortunately Raj Thackrey got the bail within 1 hour of his arrest.

This is strange that several cases have been registered under 153 (A) against Raj Thackrey but he was booked under only one case in Vikhroli and 'discharged' on bail within an hour. Whichever group is indulged in anti-social activity its leader (however passive he personally maybe) is personally responsible for all the acts of his group. This is an established edict in our criminal laws. But Raj was not arrested in any of the other cases related to the hooliganism of his party workers – this is enough to prove that he has the aashirwad of some bigger political forces which want to see Maharashtra ridden with the enmity of Marathi versus North Indians. Why? Because if Raj Thackrey is promoted Uddhav's vote bank is divided and Uddhav's loss whose benefit is there needs no description. This is politics, it is not the end, this is the beginning. In this tussle BJP is suffering grave losses as a large chunk of these non-Marathis are BJP voters, but BJP cannot raise its voice against Uddhav, that's why Togadia has unleashed another Hindutva movement "mandir wahin banayenge" to keep BJP politically alive in the state. Again this is not the end other fronts are also being opened especially Dalit front is of considerable importance. Republican Dalit leader Ram Prasad Uthavle's tussle with Mulayam Singh, his arrest in Lucknow and violence in Maharashtra on this issue is 'bad omen' for the law and order situation of Maharashtrians.