’Our Shiv Sena’

By the way my dad , a South Indian from Mysore , has fond memories of Bombay as he bagged his very first job there as a junior executive in the Tata Group . He lived in Mumbai through the late 1970s. Enjoyed his stay. Was never troubled much by Shiv Sainiks or anybody. His only regret is to give up the job in the Tata , leaving Bombay to join the civil service. So its kinda hard for me to relate to stories of south Indians being attacked by xenophobic shiv sainiks as the one peddled out by this commie Nambiar.

Re: # 18
re:gujjubaniya/prashant123/avenger123:

///Modi : Chief Minister of India`s best run and economically most successful state. Introduced a whole lot of economic and adminstrative reforms. REVOLTING.
VHP : Campaigns for the rights og hindus. REVOLTING.
RSS : Social service organisation. Usually at the fore front of most disaster relief efforts in the country. Earthquake , Tsunami , Floods , Railway Accidents. Unlike Christian Missionaries (as in Tamil Nadu , post-Tsunami) do not refuse aid to the needy who refuse to convert. Also involved in providing education to poor tribal children.REVOLTING.
Sangh Parivar : Nationalists. Indian patriots. REVOLTING.
BJP : Enjoys support of 350 million Indians. Did more for the country in the 5-6 years during which it ruled than what the Congress did in all of 50. REVOLTING.
Advani : The dude brought BJP to power by breaking the structure built on the reputed birth site of Shri. Ram by a pious muslim king called Babur , who was famous for having pillars made out of skulls of the Kafeer people he massacred.REVOLTING.///

I`m so glad you agree with me, gentle sentient. When did you start thinking they were revolting?

Oh, and as for the BJP, it`s revolting. Literally. As in rebelling.

Aha_Snark : ``Modi, the VHP, the RSS, the Sangh Parivar, the BJP, Advani, (and, admittedly, to a lesser extent Vajpayee) are REVOLTING. ``

Modi : Chief Minister of India`s best run and economically most successful state. Introduced a whole lot of economic and adminstrative reforms. REVOLTING.

VHP : Campaigns for the rights og hindus. REVOLTING.

RSS : Social service organisation. Usually at the fore front of most disaster relief efforts in the country. Earthquake , Tsunami , Floods , Railway Accidents. Unlike Christian Missionaries (as in Tamil Nadu , post-Tsunami) do not refuse aid to the needy who refuse to convert. Also involved in providing education to poor tribal children.REVOLTING.

Sangh Parivar : Nationalists. Indian patriots. REVOLTING.

BJP : Enjoys support of 350 million Indians. Did more for the country in the 5-6 years during which it ruled than what the Congress did in all of 50. REVOLTING.

Advani : The dude brought BJP to power by breaking the structure built on the reputed birth site of Shri. Ram by a pious muslim king called Babur , who was famous for having pillars made out of skulls of the Kafeer people he massacred.REVOLTING.

Vajpayee : Wannabe Nehru. Now thats really REVOLTING.

Re: # 19

THE FORMATION OF SHIV-SENA HAS TO BE STUDIED FROM THE FORMATION OF THE STATES OF MAHARASHTRA AND GUJRAT FROM THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.

THE CITY OF BOMBAY (MUMBAI) WAS TO BE A PART OF GUJRAT, INSPITE OF ITS GEOGRAPHICAL PROXIMITY TO MAHARASHTRA (IT IS A PART OF THE KONKAN STRIP).
AS SOON AS THIS DECISION WAS MADE, A WAVE OF PROTESTS, DEMONSTRATIONS AND VIOLENT INCIDENTS (TO PUT IN A NUTSHELL) OVERTOOK MAHARASHTRA AND MUMBAI. MUMBAI, THUS, BECAME A PART OF MAHARASHTRA, IN FACT, ITS CAPITAL (1950). THIS WAS THE STATE OF AFFAIRS AS THE SHIV-SENA CAME INTO EXISTENCE.

THE SHIV-SENA WAS PRIMARILY FORMED TO PROTECT THE INTERESTS OF THE MAHARASHTRAIN COMMUNITY IN MUMBAI. IT WAS A TIME WHEN AN INFLUX OF PEOPLE (FROM OTHER STATES, AND PRIMARILY FROM SOUTH INDIA) BEGIN IN MUMBAI (SAPNO KI NAGRI). THIS WAS ALSO A TIME WHEN A MOVEMENT FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE TAMIL AREAS OF INDIA AND SRI-LANKA HAD BEGUN. THE SOUTH INDIANS THROUGH THEIR TALENT, HIGH QUALITY OF EDUCATION AND A PRIDE OF THEIR PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE, OCCUPIED ALL THE IMPORTANT POSTS IN THE GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA (MOST OF THE SENIOR OFFICERS IN HIGH OFFICES ARE MOSTLY SOUTH INDIANS). THEY REFUSED JOBS TO MAHARASHTRIANS AND OTHER COMMUNITIES. THE PERCENTAGE OF MAHARASHTRAINS WAS SPEEDILY DECREASING. THE SHIV-SENA, THROUGH ITS OWN VIOLENT STYLE AND AND ITS USE OF MARATHI IN ITS NEWSPAPERS, ANNOUNCED ITS PROTEST. A HIGH POINT WAS THE ENTRY OF SOME SHIV-SAINIKS INTO THE R.B.I. GOVERNOR`s OFFICE AND MAKING THEIR DEMAND FOR 80% RESERVATION OF MAHARASHTRAINS FOR JOBS IN THE R.B.I.

THE SHIV-SENA WAS AT A HIGH POINT IN ITS POPULARITY AMONG THE MAHARASHTRAIN COMMUNITY:- AFTER ALL THEY NAMED THEMSELVES AS THE `ARMY OF CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI` (SHIV:- SHIVAJI, SAINIK:- SOLDIER), EVEN ADOPTING HIS OCHRE FLAG. CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ HOLDS A STRONG EMOTIONAL AND HISTORICAL BOND AMONG THE PEOPLE OF WHOLE OF MAHARASHTRA, IRRESPECTIVE OF CASTE, CREED, RELIGION AND COMMUNITY.

THEN THE SHIV-SENA ENTERED POLITICS, ON THE BASIS OF ITS POPULARITY AMONG THE MAHARASHTRAIN COMMUNITY. IT WAS A BRILLIANT PLAN, BUT NOT WELL EXECUTED, A TACTICAL BLUNDER. IN ITS EFFORT TO ACQUIRE A VOTE-BANK, IT ENTERED INTO THE FRAY OF TRADE UNIONS AND COMMUNAL POLITICS. IT COULD EASILY WIN THE BRUHANMUMBAI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION (B.M.C.) ELECTIONS. HOWEVER, THE REST OF MAHARASHTRA REMAINED A CONGRESS BASTION (EXCEPT THE KONKAN-BELT) DUE TO STRONG POPULAR APPEAL OF INDIRA GANDHI.

THEN HAPPENED RAJIV GANDHI AND THE BABRI MASJID. THE RIOTS BROKE OUT. THE SHIV-SENA FOUND ITSELF IN A POWERFUL SITUATION. IT WON THE MAHARASHTRA STATE ELECTIONS THE FOLLOWING YEAR ON THE `HINDUTVA IDEOLOGY` POLICY. ONE OF ITS STRONGEST VOTE-BANK:- THE BIHARI AND UTTAR PRADESH BHAIYYAS (THE NORTH INDIANS), MOSTLY HINDUS.

HOW DID THEY FORMED SUCH A LARGE VOTE-BANK IN MUMBAI? SIMPLE. THE ONCE CHAMPION OF THE MAHARASHTRAIN CAUSE HAD REALISED THE POTENTIALITY OF COMMUNAL POLITICS. IT WANTED MORE HINDUS, SO ADD THEM. THEY PROVIDED FREE ACCOMODATION AND HOUSING FACILITIES TO THEM. THUS, THE UTTAR-BHARTIYAS ENTERED MUMBAI. THE MAHARASHTRAIN COMMUNITY HATED THIS INFLUX, YET THE SHIV-SENA STARTED LOOSING ITS TOUCH FROM ITS BASIC GROUND POLICY.

IT AGAIN WON THE ELECTIONS. HOWEVER, IT WAS IN FOR A RUDE SHOCK. IT FELL FROM POWER DUE TO LOSS OF MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE, AND THE CONGRESS HAS BEEN IN THE POWER ALONGWITH THE NATIONALIST CONGRESS PARTY. THE SHIV-SENA REALISED ITS BLUNDER AND TRIED A FACE-SAVING POLICY:- IT BECAME ANTI-UTTAR-BHARTIYA AND PUT A CUT-OFF DATE AS 1995 FOR PEOPLE TO BE CALLED AS MUMBAIKARS i.e. PEOPLE RESIDING IN MUMBAI BEFORE 1995 WERE REAL `MUMBAIKARS.` (THIS CUTT-OFF DATE HAS BEEN PUT FORWARD TO 2000, BY THE CONGRESS).

THIS WAS DUE TO THE FACT OF A POWER-TUSSLE BETWEEN THE BAL THAKERAY`S SON UDDHAV AND RAJ; THE LATER IS A `HARDLINER` OF THE ORIGINAL SHIV-SENA POLICY.IT HAS ALSO STARTED TO OPPOSE THE INFLUX OF THE ILLEGAL BANGLADESHIS AND THE BAR GIRLS. IT ALSO MADE A VOLTE-FACE ON THE UTTAR-BHARTIYA ISSUE, TRYING TO WOO THEM DURING THE RECENTLY HELD ELECTIONS, WHICH IT LOST BY A HUGE MARGIN.

THE MAHARASHTRAIN COMMUNITY HAS SUFFERED A SETBACK DUE TO THIS ATTITUDE OF THE SHIV-SENA AND HAS BEEN REDUCED TO A MERE 34% OF THE TOTAL POPULATION (1.3 CRORE) OF MUMBAI. MAHARASHTRIANS SOMETIMES SUFFER A SUB-ORDINATION FROM THE OTHER COMMUNITIES. THE STATE LANGUANGE IS HARDLY SPOKEN AND IS IGNORED BY MOST STUDENTS OF THE STATE BOARD. THE MARATHI FILM INDUSTRY, THE PIONEER OF THE INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY ITSELF, IS LOOSING ITS APPEAL (THOUGH `SHWAAS` HAS BROUHT NEW HOPE).

THUS, THE SHIV-SENA AND OTHER POLITICAL LEADERS HAVE BECOME FALSE HOPES FOR THE MAHARASHTRIAN COMMUNITY IN MUMBAI, YET THEY STILL VOTE FOR IT!

#16 by avenger123 on May 4, 2005 4:17pm PT


Shiv Sena used to be anti-South Indians........but that was before that day in late 1980s when Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for the last ball sixer......the spontaneous reaction of the muslims of mumbai to that single shot opened up the eyes of the Shiv Sena and its supporters , the Maharashtrians , to the real threat........since then no threats or attacks have been made on the South Indians by the Shiv Sena ....after all South Indians are hindus too......


Going by that logic, some cricketer from UP or bihar must have done something wrong cos the SS now hates north Indians....or bhaiyyas as they are called in bombay...

harish - quite apart from wishing you on your induction into the all chowkie commie association [ACCA], I wanted to tell you how much i enjoyed reading this latest installment. There`s something about little old south indian ladies who brew you coffee and mother you every chance they get - I thought they were my secret to be guarded unto death but here you are with your very own durga aunty...

This, more than any of the other chapters, painted the best portrait. What I`ve noticed throughout this series is your ability to bring people you care for to life on the given canvas - a difficult thing to accomplish and best done in this one.

So...What`s next? :)

Re: # 21

Why don`t you join your pak collaborators and kill a few christians today?.Your pak cohorts are killing a couple of christians a day to keep the doctor away, it seems.Seems like good therapy for them, sure should work for you , as you share the same mindset.Maybe it will take your mind off us indians for a while..News reports speak of christians attacked , maimed or killed almost every day in your favorite country.Why don`t you speak out against that?You won`t.How can you?.You aren`t indian.I know you can`t take rejection , but have you read your writing lately?.Also, since you care so much for the banglas, why don`t you settle down in dacca.Do us all the favour.

Harish:

``Behind so many locks`` and ``absence of memory``...this would be my succinct summation of this piece.

I am not too sure about the `Stockholm Syndrome` analogy...in SS (Ahm lovely!) one begins to like, enjoy the captor. Durga aunty clearly does not. When she uses the term ``goondas`` it isn`t a teeny whack for a misdeamonour; she is seriously against the ideology.

Re. ``our Shiv Sena``...as a literary/political device your take makes sense, espcially since you have gone the length with the us vs them argument. At another level, it could be a default identification without strings attached. Or the wry use of ``our`` as opposed to the Muslims (since this was post-Godhra) -- Durga aunty is in fact trying to express her disgust in `belonging`.

An aside: Once at a dinner at the hosue of a liberal family, a few weeks after the riots, we got discussing politics and at one point I said, ``And our Dawood sits there talking to journalists and no one does a thing.``

Promptly, the dapper guy, my peer, laid the cutlery down on the plate and mocked, ``Oh, so you are now saying `our`, hanh?``

His father promptly explained what I meant, so I could resume eating my dum aloo. Phew, no wonder I prefer older men:)

PS: This might qualify as commie due to the use of `our` as opposed to the capitalist `my`!

- - -
One wishes that the Indian Intelligence Services work faster than the Home Ministry...since the letter complaining about my `anti-antional` activities (writing about BD refugees) must have reached them a while ago, I have been waiting...

#22 by cayenne on May 5, 2005 1:35am PT


Why don`t you speak out against that?


I`m not looking for a free cup of 80Rs coffee or something, by why the heck should she? she`s a pro-islamist..we all know that...but she doesn`t have to answer to you..she only answers to the people who read mid-day for the articles(and not the mid-day mate or the astrology section or the gossip)....

When was the last time you said anything about the things going on in Nepal?

``What I`ve noticed throughout this series is your ability to bring people you care for to life on the given canvas``

It speaks so well of Harish`s gift for friendship.

A quick one, as a part of industrial training (was optional but i had khujali) in third year went to Tata Electric Hydro at Bhivpuri. When I went first time the bus was stopped by an old lady who looked like a bhikari. The driver let her in. She was angry and upset. She was speaking in English and had a Christian name. She was addressing the folks in the bus, mostly Keralites and that to from a particular village or district in Kerala, with choiciest gaalis in English. I was confused and terrified by her looks and destitute situation. Later I came to know that she lost her land in Buvpuri, She begged Tatas for faie compensation and jobs for for her drunkard boys, one of whom had died recently. Her complain was that the Malyalis had filled all the vacancies and that engineering degrees of many Malyalis were fake. But one thing I noticed they were all helpful to each other and were hard working. Folks were good but this sifarish system in Tatas and many other private firms in Mumbai gave rose to Amchi Mumbai feeling among Marathis. Somewhere in 80 summer vacation I was introduced by a friend ??Adarniya?? Balasaheb. When I saw outside Karate classes being conducted, I told above incident to Baalasaheb. And coneyed instead of this open ITIs, Polytechniques and even Engineering colleges like those donation colleges in Karnataka. Malyalis and Tamilians have good work ethics, so embrace them but make sure that with each southy is peered with a one local so that he imbibes his work habits or willing to work for lower salary. Employ the southiies in ITIs and polytechniques as teacher. They dont creat problems of unions. He said - Assa kela tar Khain Wawaga Honar Nahin. Later I realized it ment good idea but No tHanks I am not interested.!

So boss, talk about building community, but tum sala hamesha polity polity karta hain aur lot of maudlin article likhta hain. Saala the days of amchi mumbai are long gone. lot of marathis marry southies and vice versa. Amchi Mumbai creates dread in farxana bibis who loike to live in acocoon or Islamic ghetto. But what can we do for such people who shit in he thali in which they were fed. They and their friends call it ewrotic art.

BTW, Bibiji and Rita Darlings this was ment for your consumption:

Now about pillorized generation. Women`s liberation,
confidence and pill has no relation.

Scene1: We all are sitting in a conference room of a prestigious east coast research lab associated with a university in 1985. It`s the time of high honey moon between uncle sam and hayena land. A sari clad, bindi on forehead and mangalsutra around the neck is presenting her patented laser guded robotic application for use in minfield clearing. She was the project leader and also a PHD student EE/CS. The assistant director of the lab arranged this presentation for visiting Lt. General and few Brigadiers. These guys were in utter shock. They asked few faltu questions in fake American or Desi convent accent in return they got answers in Marathi village accent. Whenever American asked a question, they got replies in fluent American English and accent. Later in the lobby another Indian student heard one of the brigadier saying - sala, we cannot escape from these Hindoos. Some of them had kids in the same university attending to get degrees like BA (Hon) ... you know what I mean. These hayina gaandoos were royally bambooed. Later they visited Material Science Deptt and Lab where the presentation was by a sari clad Tamilian Associate prof whose Tamili husband was chair of the deptt.

This kind of bambooing is womens true lib not squatting in the chowk and melting bras into custom condoms.

But this kind of air-headed bimbogiri (AB) is what comes first to the shore from the west and finally leads to BAgiri. When beloved Farzanabibi and other Rita darlings in skimpy dresses were going to safaya (aka Sophia) colleges these ladies were slogging in IITs and Engineering colleges. My 16 year old did a very nice skit using the song in the link on globalization or what gets globalized first for his English Lit class.

In late 80s and early 90s we spread in villages and small towns Gyanba Tuka C++ Shika with the help of TIFR/NCDVT and CADAC which gave fruits in 100s of good H1Bs and companies where good work is downloaded. Anyway most here wont understand. Halliday Resnick, Lonies Trig can go with Gyanba`s Dindi. In fact Dnyaneshwar Mauli says - Samagama Kara Vidnyan and Sadnyan.

Both dear wife and dear Amyhave ganged up to check whar i do in the car. It seems we cannot escape from these women. But they only make the world go around. They have found why sometime it bips i the car. So this might be last for a while.

Bibiji Peace to you. You are a good soul. Personally I wish all good things come to you and never you become unhappy. Rita Darling you are still Amrita Didi. Talk about community and not polity. Polity is for professional gaandus.

Harish boss, I did not read your article so tke my commnts with ... what can I say, grain of salt ... is that right expression Amrita Didi?

I better run and disconnect his.
Bibiji, & Didi go here to make sense of what I am conveying http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00005060&channel=gulberg&threshold=1&layout=0&order=0&start=10&end=19&page=2&chapter=1#interacts

sunlight,

The reason for them moving to Mysore was that he had retired, and Mysore was a better place for retired folk. Besides, old family ties reinforced that decision, i guess. Thanks for liking it, and pointing out the typo.


BeeJay,

Thanks! I do understand that you, as many others, might not agree with my interpretation of Durga aunty`s ``our,`` But I have said this before, it is my spin.

t,

Never seen you get so poetic over prose. :) Thanks.

jang,

The Sena has always been a more nakedly opportunistic political party than most others. It has kept jumping from one issue to another. It did start of with the South Indians being identified as the first set of enemies for the sons of the soil movement in the sixties. The ulti lungi lot, they were then. Later, it coopted the BJP`s Hindutva agends, even more forcefully than the BJP itslef. When Babri fell, Thackeray clearly said he was proud that his boys did the job.

Later, as somebody pointed out, the North Indians were troublesome. But by then the party had grown, and the North Indians; Biharis and UPites, were too significant a number to be openly defied. So they gace Sanjay Nirupam a ticket, a Bihari. Nirupam just left the Sena to join the Congress, but not because he was Bihari. He rubbed the Sena the wrong way on Pramod Mahajan. The influence of the North indians was the reason Uddhav later started a relatively ``inclusive`` Mee Mumbaikar campaign.

So, the Sena`s has been more a reactive ideology. Though its cadre is more proactive. I have a piece on the Sena on chowk, where I quote a founder of the Sena on the reasons and origins of the party.

amrita,

South Indian aunties are about as secret as political affiliations! :)

Farzana,

Thanks for youir comments. And your explanation of my quami leanings made the best sense!

Ansari,

Must say your perception about my political leanings is more flattering than those of others. :)

This should cheer up Hindu religious nuts.....

Yasser Hamdani has snatched the dhoti off Gandhi in his article here:

http://www.naseeb.com/naseebvibes/prose-detail.php?aid=3837&PHPSESSID=3c158bd794bf6ae4e7c482fce07e433d

NRI appointed CFO of Bush’s Executive Office


Saturday, 07 May , 2005, 00:00

Washington: An Indian-origin expert has been appointed the Chief Financial Officer of the Executive Office of US President George W Bush.

Gopal Khanna, the new Chief Financial Officer of the Peace Corps, had also held several senior executive positions in finance, information technology, operations and management consulting prior to joining the Peace Corps. He will take up his position on Sunday, May 8.

``I am honoured to join the White House staff and am looking forward to serving the President,`` Khanna said.



Congratulating Khanna, Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez said, ``During his..........

Not bad, eh?.I wish him well.

Re: # 32


Reactionary drivel is what this HN is all about.