Strayed Navnirman-II

There is substance in the issue raised. However, since the issue is very contextual, what matters the most is how this issue is analysed. Let us first understand that the feeling of insecurity among the locals against the non-locals is not uncommon. The USA is witnessing it and so is the U.K., Australia or any other country with high number of immigrants. Even in our country, there have been stray incidents of erruptions against people from other states. Since, most of the other states in India are less developed as compared to Maharashtra, there are less number of employment opportunities in these states. No wonder then, that for people in other states, Maharashtra offers limitless opportunities. However, even though we would like to believe that all the regions in Maharashtra are equally developed, the fact is, development in Maharashtra hasn't been beyond Mumbai and few other cities. Bold statements from the politicians apart, the rural Maharashtra is actually dying a slow death. This uneven development pattern within Maharashtra is making the matters worse. Since, people within Maharashtra are willing to migrate to Mumbai and few other cities such as Pune & Nagpur, the influx of 'outsiders' to these cities is upsetting the locals as they feel they have the right to be benefitted first from Mumbai's development as it belongs to Maharashtra.

In order to restore the situation, a detailed long term plan, rather than a 'Quick-fix' is required. The states which contribute to the influx in Maharashtra should introspect about why the people from those states migrate to Maharashtra. People in Maharashtra should clearly understand that development is an irreversible process. It is upto the people of Maharashtra whether to run away from the situation or embrace the opportunities the development offers. Also, to fight influx,people of Maharashtra should equip themselves with the right approach and aquire necessary skills.

What has Maharashtra lost in the whole bargain? A great deal. First of all, despite having the maximum number of migrants from every other state in India, Maharashtra's friedly image is dented and today it is perceived as hostile and the people of Maharashtra, stubborn. Media has contributed in its own way. When it was busy publishing stories of poor taxi drivers from Bihar being beaten mercilessly, hardly any one of them noticed that Maharashtra was one of the first states to send doctors for the rescue work in flood affected areas. While it was worth publishing a story of so-called killing of a young man who had come for an interview from Bihar(which was later proven irresponsible journalism), the news of a common Maharashtrian donating Rs. one and a half lakhs from his meagre retirement funds to Bihar flood relief fund was not at all important. This media bias has played an important role in forming opinions about people of Maharashtra. Finally, despite having contributed the maximum in our country's freedom struggle and despite being very patriotic, Maharashtra, thanks to its politicians, has inadvertently, acted against the national interest.

The only ray of hope is the fact that not all of Maharashtra follows Mr. Thakre(Raj or Uddhav) just as not all of Bihar follows Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav and not all of U.P. follows Mr. Amar Singh or Ms. Mayawati.