Those who value the city's time-honoured inclusive character can only pray it doesn’t fall prey to the vultures of parochialism
Krishna Kumar Sahu, who cooks for a living, arrived in Mumbai three years ago. The Jaunpur native is already quite weary. He pours his heart out. His words lack the sparkle of his freshly rustled up curry.
“I've always sensed an undercurrent of tension here,” he says. “I am an outsider and am never allowed to forget that. So I don't mix with the locals.” Krishna’s eyes turn moist when you ask him if he feels safe here. He admits that his mother back in UP is worried stiff. “She calls me up every day to enquire about my well-being,” he says.
The story of Sarita Yadav, a housemaid, is pretty much the same. She was brought to the city when it was still Bombay. As a child she shared her mother’s workload. Her lot hasn’t improved while the city has changed beyond recognition. Sarita is a domestic help in an upscale Juhu apartment.
Every day, she takes a B.E.S.T bus to work. She usually chooses to stand even when there are empty seats in the vehicle. Why? “I've had a few bitter experiences in the past. I’ve heard my community being cursed in the local language when I’ve occupied a seat. Why spoil my mornings? I prefer to stand and get off at my stop.”
Krishna and Sarita live on the edge of the city of dreams. Since the 2008 wave of attacks on North Indians, it is difficult to draw these people out of their shells. They do not want to hurt the sentiments of the locals. They have seen what happens when these feelings are exploited by political forces.
The north Indian influx hasn’t slowed down. This state is after all a melting pot. According to the People of India Project Report, Maharashtra has 202 Hindu communities, which constitute over 70 per cent of the state's overall population. Seven distinct Muslim communities account for nearly 8 per cent of the state’s population, while Christians and Protestants add up to 3 per cent.
Though nearly 70 per cent of Maharashtra's population speak the state’s native language, Marathi, the Hindi and Urdu-speaking segments constitute nearly 20 per cent. The remaining 10 per cent of the population speak a range of other languages – Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Tulu, among others.
Mumbai is a metropolis that no single community can lay exclusive claim to. But sections of the Marathi manoos have other ideas. Says Girish Zarekar, an IT officer from Pune: “This is our land, and nobody should be allowed to step in here if they take away our job opportunities. We have a great history and it's our right to protect and preserve this historic land.”
But not every Marathi-speaking resident shares that sentiment. Cabbie Shailesh Surve says, “I don't feel threatened. I was born in Nasik. I realise that the greater the influx, the better for us." He doesn't feel all migrants are gripped by alienation. “When an outsider first lands here, Mumbai tends to inspire a sense of disorientation,” he says. “But once you surmount that feeling, things ease out for most migrants,” he adds.
Ramesh Singh, part of the Mumabi workforce, migrated from Patna in 2007. “Things may have deteriorated but I don't let fear get the better of me. If you go along with the city's pace and aren't unduly belligerent, you will not even realise that there is a divide.”
Gujarati-speaking Suresh Solanki, who has grown up in Maharashtra, says, “This state has nurtured us. We are proud of it. You can stop new entrants, but you can't boot out people who've lived here ages.”
Solanki does not understand what the fuss is all about. “We've all contributed to making Mumbai what it is. It belongs to us as much as to any other Maharashtrian,” he says. But will groups that thrive on identity politics allow an inclusive Mumbai to retain its essentially cosmopolitan character?
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Krishna Kumar Sahu, who cooks for a living, arrived in Mumbai three years ago. The Jaunpur native is already quite weary. He pours his heart out. His words lack the sparkle of his freshly rustled up curry.
“I've always sensed an undercurrent of tension here,” he says. “I am an outsider and am never allowed to forget that. So I don't mix with the locals.” Krishna’s eyes turn moist when you ask him if he feels safe here. He admits that his mother back in UP is worried stiff. “She calls me up every day to enquire about my well-being,” he says.
The story of Sarita Yadav, a housemaid, is pretty much the same. She was brought to the city when it was still Bombay. As a child she shared her mother’s workload. Her lot hasn’t improved while the city has changed beyond recognition. Sarita is a domestic help in an upscale Juhu apartment.
Every day, she takes a B.E.S.T bus to work. She usually chooses to stand even when there are empty seats in the vehicle. Why? “I've had a few bitter experiences in the past. I’ve heard my community being cursed in the local language when I’ve occupied a seat. Why spoil my mornings? I prefer to stand and get off at my stop.”
Krishna and Sarita live on the edge of the city of dreams. Since the 2008 wave of attacks on North Indians, it is difficult to draw these people out of their shells. They do not want to hurt the sentiments of the locals. They have seen what happens when these feelings are exploited by political forces.
The north Indian influx hasn’t slowed down. This state is after all a melting pot. According to the People of India Project Report, Maharashtra has 202 Hindu communities, which constitute over 70 per cent of the state's overall population. Seven distinct Muslim communities account for nearly 8 per cent of the state’s population, while Christians and Protestants add up to 3 per cent.
Though nearly 70 per cent of Maharashtra's population speak the state’s native language, Marathi, the Hindi and Urdu-speaking segments constitute nearly 20 per cent. The remaining 10 per cent of the population speak a range of other languages – Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Tulu, among others.
Mumbai is a metropolis that no single community can lay exclusive claim to. But sections of the Marathi manoos have other ideas. Says Girish Zarekar, an IT officer from Pune: “This is our land, and nobody should be allowed to step in here if they take away our job opportunities. We have a great history and it's our right to protect and preserve this historic land.”
But not every Marathi-speaking resident shares that sentiment. Cabbie Shailesh Surve says, “I don't feel threatened. I was born in Nasik. I realise that the greater the influx, the better for us." He doesn't feel all migrants are gripped by alienation. “When an outsider first lands here, Mumbai tends to inspire a sense of disorientation,” he says. “But once you surmount that feeling, things ease out for most migrants,” he adds.
Ramesh Singh, part of the Mumabi workforce, migrated from Patna in 2007. “Things may have deteriorated but I don't let fear get the better of me. If you go along with the city's pace and aren't unduly belligerent, you will not even realise that there is a divide.”
Gujarati-speaking Suresh Solanki, who has grown up in Maharashtra, says, “This state has nurtured us. We are proud of it. You can stop new entrants, but you can't boot out people who've lived here ages.”
Solanki does not understand what the fuss is all about. “We've all contributed to making Mumbai what it is. It belongs to us as much as to any other Maharashtrian,” he says. But will groups that thrive on identity politics allow an inclusive Mumbai to retain its essentially cosmopolitan character?
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM, GURGAON
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