MUMBAI..., best known to Indians as the commercial capital of INDIA and especially for people of UTTAR-PRADESH and BIHAR as a source of their livelihood and shelter (mostly illegally),...is the capital of MAHARASHTRA state. The above statement has a hidden meaning that MUMBAI for rest of INDIA is a means to earn money whereas for MAHARASHTRA it is the soul.

MUMBAI during the british period was a combination of the state of Maharashtra alongwith the state of Gujrat and was called GREATER BOMBAY province. Historically the 2 communities which challenged the britishers in INDIA were the sikhs and the marathas. These communities are said to be the ones who will never tolerate cultural, linguistic, political and social interference. Even when after INDIA's independence, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's government decided to organise states' boundaries based on the language of the people in the areas and the inclination of the people towards the region, tensions rose in Western part with people demanding a separate state of MAHARASHTRA which consisted mainly of marathi speaking population. This demand didnot go well with the NEHRU's government as it had a strong gujrati lobby which was against formation of MAHARASHTRA as MUMBAI(BOMBAY) would geographically become a part of MAHARASHTRA and mean heavy losses to gujurati businessmen. But not only political leaders, social activists,culturists in MAHARASHTRA rebelled against the government but even top marathi government officials serving some of the highest positions openly challenged the NEHRU government's decision not to honour the marathi demands for MAHARASHTRA. Hon.IAS officer, MR. C.D.DESHMUKH, who was the only INDIAN representative at the BRETTON WOODS CONFERENCE which resulted in the formation of WORLD BANK, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.. resigned on the issue that the government wasnot responsive and sensitive towards the marathi sentiments. Many leaders came together to fight for the state of Maharashtra and decided to lead an agitation. Even though the agitation was peaceful, MORARJI DESAI ordered police to open fire at the masses and MAHARASHTRA lost 106 great leaders and many injured. With situation going out of control each day, NEHRU finally declared that the demand of marathis for MAHARASHTRA alongwith MUMBAI was approved by the government. But even today some hundreds of villages including BELGAAV are controlled by KARNATAKA which have been claimed by MAHARASHTRA...as the majority of people there are marathis and have an inclination towards joining MAHARASHTRA. This issue has completed more than 40 years and is even pending in the Supreme court. Meanwhile KARNATAKA govt. is ensuring that marathi culture and language are suppressed in these areas. For which they have implemented strict rules like no marathi script allowed on name-plates on doors, no organisation of any kind to promote marathi culture in the disputed areas, making kanada compulsory in schools in these areas....so till the time Supreme court gives a judgement, there would be no one to have inclination towards Maharashtra.

But this is not surely the end of post....with people from UTTARPRADESH and BIHAR trying to interfere with the social, political and linguistic aspects of marathis in MAHARASHTRA....things will go from bad to worse and this is the beginning....if things are to be improved then immediate actions should be taken to develop those states which are exporting their excess human produce to MAHARASHTRA....just to ensure that they grow here politically.!!! JAI MAHARASHTRA

MUMBAI'S LOST CHARM!!!!

MUMBAI- the heart of finance in the country and also the state capital of MAHARASHTRA was once known globally for its valuable textile industry. The main reason for the growth of this industry in Mumbai was the increase in demands from ENGLAND, as USA was not in a position to export its textiles to ENGLAND. However, there was hindrance to its growth with the international industries making use of technology, and adding to this was the complete negligence of the management and the government towards the problems faced by the workers who were mainly the poor and middle-class MARATHI MANOOS. The workers resorted to strikes and with no government interference, the owners decided to close down operations of several mills in Mumbai which completely devastated the workers. The workers were not compensated by the mill owners neither by the government by giving them alternative jobs. A few who possessed lands in the native places decided to engage themselves in agricultural activities to earn their living but many of those who were landless preferred staying back in the city and worked as helpers in the houses of rich, many opened up garages, others who were unskilled had to beg for their bread and some others even died of starvation. The scenario has however completely changed in the recent years and big builders have swallowed all those mills' areas earning on large malls,commercial complexes,residential complexes for the higher middle-class and the rich. The Marathi Manoos was ultimately forced to leave MUMBAI and search for cheaper housing facilities in areas like DOMBIVLI,KALYAN and this is mainly the reason why Marathi population is in scarce in Mumbai. The soul of 106 hutatmas who sacrifised their lives for creation of the state of Maharashtra alongwith MUMBAI as its capital, would never be pleased with the present condition of Marathis in Mumbai. Many have tried to capitalise on the issues faced by Maharashtrians but no one till now has done much to help them come out of these situations.

The mill workers who lost their jobs are still waiting for a helping hand from the government and are working hard to ensure their children get a better life but the government seems more concerned about providing jobs to those people coming from other states (without being domiciled in Maharashtra state) and the future of these workers' children also seem to be in dark even after registering themselves with the employment guarantee exchange.

One can hardly imagine what these workers would be feeling about the malls,multiplexes,towers built on the lands where they once worked and earned their living. In an interview to a Marathi news channel a worker said, "our heart weeps when we see such towers and malls being built on areas which were our source of living...". and the very thought of imaging myself in their place made me write this article.

I sincerely hope that these workers and their children get a better life in the city. JAIHIND JAI MAHARASHTRA