By Karmanye Thadani:
We have several clowns in our political circles to keep us entertained, though at times, the actions of these clowns cost some sections of the society dear. Raj Thackeray, a politician raising slogans of linguistic-regional intolerance, had been quite forgotten in the national arena until the clown decided to resurface again.
This time, it is all about Raj Thackeray attacking the Nitish government in Bihar for having criticized the Mumbai Police for arresting an alleged criminal in Nitish’s state without the permission of his government. Nitish’s remark was a fair one pertaining to the protocol, but Mr. Thackeray would have none of it. Anything to do with Maharashtra is above criticism, it seems. Likewise, Mr. Raj Thackeray has decided that he will be the man who will decide whether a TV show can have Pakistani artists or not because he of course, is above the law. And yes, he is sure the Muslim extremists in Mumbai who carried out a rather violent protest against the killings of Muslims in Assam (as if Bodos didn’t lose their lives in that conflict) and even the mass murders of Muslims in Myanmar were all from Bihar, UP or Jharkhand, but definitely not Mr. Thackeray’s adorable Marathi Muslims, for whom he has been demanding a greater share in the haj subsidy. Of course, his stand of people, irrespective of religion, from these regions being unwelcome in the commercial capital of India, has not undergone any transformation. If this was not enough, all Hindi news channels allegedly misrepresent him, so he threatens to shut them down.
The insanity and lack of logic in Thackeray’s statements is for any sensible person to see. Divisive politics has always threatened our national fabric, we’ve seen enough of that in the sphere of religion and we need no more of it. But then, politics works on vote-bank principles. The MNS has not been able to form a government till date and with its hate-filled, lunatic ideology. All I can do is hope and pray that it does not form a government in Maharashtra.
We are all Indians and it is time we understood that. If we dream of becoming a superpower, then given our dipping growth rate (though still enviable for many European countries at this point of time), we certainly cannot afford to have such things happening in the commercial capital of the country. I just hope that better sense prevails.