Raj Thackeray's sapling of parochialism is growing all the time

It is often said that the biggest strength of India is its democracy. One can say anythiong he/she wants to and espouse any cause that they want. But there are times when one wishes that there were some ways to remedy some evils, which slip through under the right to free speech. Notable amongst them is the mantra of Marathi parochialism reborn by Raj Thackeray.

The 'Maharashtra for Marathis' slogan re-invoked by raj Thackeray seems to have become an ever-growing monster. At first it was only Raj Thackeray. Then it was adopted (adopted again would be more accurate) also by the Shiv sena. Uddhav Thackeray joined the 'throw out North Indians' chorus. Saamna attacked Amitabh Bachchan for not doing enough for Maharashtra.

Now the Congress government in the state seems to have discovered the vote-catching potential of Raj Thackeray's creation. The home minister has instructed all those wanting to invest in the state to employ only Marathi 'manoos'.

When is this madness going to stop? This kind of Marathi votes gathering gimmicks may benefit some political parties in the next elections, but the harm this does to the national unity is enormous. What if tomorrow Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka (Karnataka has its own 'jobs for locals' movement already) say their states are only for the sons of the soil? What if Gujarat throws out Marathis from the state, so that Gujarati unemployed get jobs?

This is dangerous. The sad part is that India has only politicians, no leaders or statesmen. These honourable men would go to any extent to get votes; and hell with national interest! I am sure there must be some way that the poison ivy grown by Raj Thackeray is nipped in the bud. If none of the politicians are up to it, then the Supreme Court should step in.

One must remember that formation of states on linguistic lines has been a big blunder. Linguistic identities are still strong in the country. Raj Thackeray's 'Maharashtra for Marathis' slogan will only sharpen the divides. It is a divisive tool. Why is the whole country silently tolerating it?
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