4.11.08

Maharashtrians flay attacks on north Indians

A group of eminent Maharashtrians expressed their anguish over recent attacks on north Indians, calling them “illegal and unconstitutional”. The statement issued by the group has questioned the very cause — the interest of the ‘Marathi manoos’ — being propagated by organisations which are involved in violence against north Indians.The group argued that regional chauvinism jeopardises the very future of Maharashtrian youth in whose name the chauvinists are agitating and warned that failure to check and punish these chauvinist forces will be detrimental to the vital interests of the state and the country. “The perpetrators of the violence have defied the rule of law and challenged the fundamental right of our citizens to travel, study, reside or earn a livelihood anywhere in India. Their cause — the interest of the ‘Marathi manoos’ — smacks of regional chauvinism,” the statement said. The eminent group, which include Planning Commission member Bhalchandra Mungekar, National Minorities Commission member Dileep Padgaonkar, senior lawyer Harish Salve, Suresh Tendulkar, economist Vijay Kelkar, Air Chief Marshal (retd) Anil Tipnis, Anuradha Kunte, Air Marshal (retd) Satish Inamdar, ambassador Sudhir Devare and Tasnim Mehta, urged fellow Maharashtrians to reject out of hand the regional chauvinists who are engaged in dangerous games for electoral gains and call on the authorities to thwart their designs with vigour. They said that these illegal and unconstitutional actions are an affront to our heritage and the traditions of tolerance that Marathi saint-poets, social reformers and intellectuals have cultivated over many centuries. “We have lived and worked in different parts of India and the world without hindrance. We are, therefore, appalled and anguished by the recent attacks on north Indians in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra,” they said. They argued that Maharashtrian youth, like youth all over India, have legitimate aspirations to acquire education, develop skills and successfully compete in the market place to get better jobs and higher incomes and these are indeed legitimate aspirations and can be met only by a dynamic India. However, a failure to check and punish these forces will be detrimental to the vital interests of the State of Maharashtra and sooner than later, this failure is bound to subvert the unity of India, they said in the statement. The group highlights that scores of Maharashtrians, alongside their compatriots from all parts of the country, have made the supreme sacrifice of laying down their lives for the sake of the unity of the nation.

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