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Some days back Jaya Bachchan took the liberty of expressing her desire to speak in her mother tongue (Hindi) at a film function. Little had she known the repercussions of such a move in a highly parochial country like India. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) protested against Jaya Bachchan’s “anti Marathi” utterances and asked her to apologize. MNS chief Raj Thackeray said, “If Jaya Bachchan wants to speak in Hindi, she better shift to Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra, she must learn Marathi. She should also learn to respect the sentiments of Maharashtra. I dare her to go to West Bengal and say that she loves Hindi.”

My only question for such sentiments is that isn’t Hindi supposed to be our national language? Is regional language superior to the national language? And more importantly doesn’t a person have the right to even choose a language to speak in, if he or she is in a state of some other regional language? Is our periphery of modernization and liberalization limited to just the blocks of concrete we are erecting in every part of the country? Will our thoughts and actions never rise above regionalism and individualism?

India is the largest democracy in the world. Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, gives us the right to freedom of speech and expression. The existence of this freedom is the cornerstone of a democracy, especially in a highly mixed society like India. How can we think of progressing into the league of developed countries when people are deprived of their basic constitutional rights?

The biggest problem lurking underneath the façade of “patriotism towards regionalism” is the hunger for publicity and ignorance of people. Interestingly, around 30% of the world’s illiterate population comes from India. The literacy rate in India is around 60% of which the majority of the literates residue in urban areas (which does not account for more than 10% of the inhabited land). The poor and ignorant are an easy target of exploitation and socialism. They just need to be brain washed and you can have an army of people ready to kill and die. And all these politicians need is such an army and one such remark which can provide fresh fodder to feed their “anti-human” campaign.

Ask yourself how justified is a person to be able to exercise the right to express himself or herself as he or she desires and then raise your opinion against what is unfair.

Tags: Amitabh Bachchan, Bachchan, Bachchans, Democracy, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, Hindi, Jaya Bachchan, Marathi, MNS, Mumbai, National Language, Raj Thackeray

After one more fresh attack on North Indians by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray in Mumbai, state Police on Sunday said that they may take legal action against him.

Congress and BJP claimed that his remarks were “objectionable” and have no place in country’s polity, referring to which Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor told in Mumbai, “We are going through the transcripts and if we find any provocative content in it, we will refer it to a legal team. Based on their advice, we may also initiate fresh legal action against Raj.”

On Saturday, Thackeray attacked North Indians for trying to “invade” Marathi culture and dared the government to arrest him for making the statement while giving a speech in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh termed Raj’s remarks as “objectionable” and said the police would do the needful.

“Shiva, Parvathi, Ganesh, are all members of the same family. Nobody should be allowed to indulge in politics of breaking the family”, BJP chief Rajnath Singh said.

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh also accused Congress of supporting Raj.

‘I am convinced that many ministers in Maharashtra government are behind Raj’s attack against North Indians’, he alleged. “They are using Raj as their means to put up their agenda”, Singh said.

Raj Thackray had led a violent anti-North Indian campaign in February and was arrested on charges of inciting people, as the party had allegedly been behind the creation of Sikh militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Tags: Maharashtra, Mumbai, North Indians, Raj, Raj Thackeray, Sena, Shiv Sena, Thackeray

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that he would write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the ongoing verbal attacks and injustice with Hindi-speaking people particularly Biharis in Maharashtra. Nitish Kumar will request PM to pay his concern over the matter.

“I have already sent a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and spoken to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Union Steel Minister Ramvilas Paswan, to use their influence in the Union government to stop attacks on Biharis. Now I am going to write to the Prime Minister,” he said.

As it is familiar to everyone that MNS leader Raj Thackeray’s anti-north Indian speech led to a string of violent incidents in Maharshtra.

Kumar asked his people to have patience on this issue and not to make any offensive statements or actions. He assured them that some solid step will be taken by him to help them out. He said to write a letter to PM in the same concern.

Tags: Attack, Bihar, Maharashtra, Raj Thackeray

Maharashatra Navnirmaan Seva’s chief Raj Thackeray is warned to kill. An unknown person sends a threat letter to him and his family.

Party’s senior member, Sandeep Deshpande told that the letter is received by post. It was written that 4 sharp shooters are hired to kill him. Later, police was informed about the matter and the letter was hand over to them by Deshpande.

It is known that he is in controversies for many days due to his statements against North Indians living in Mumbai. He announced not to celebrate any north Indian festival in Mumbai and threatened the North Indians to leave Maharashtra.

There is violence in Mumbai and nearby areas regarding the matter against his statements. North Indians are very angry with him and are protesting against his comments.

Tags: Maharashtra, MNS, Raj Thackeray