11 thoughts on “Migration and local populations”

  1. Just saw your comment, Mukul. I hear you on the inherent cultural identity crisis. I am not sure that that line of inquiry leads to functional solutions with a view to also accommodating the compromises required of being part of a larger nation.

    Or maybe I misunderstood.

  2. yayayaya….such issues are unending and so are various interventions, adding to the already overwhelming chaos. Systemic and interventionist focus seems to be on proximal causes (migrations!) and not on understanding the ultimate causes (inherent cultural identity conflict???)

  3. An absolutely third class article that has hallmark of this blogger, whose only aim is to get popular on Twitter, drive traffic to her shitty blog, and earn advertising money. If this brainless blogger really blogs for communication I challenge her to remove the ads.

    This blogger has a habit of taking side of right-wing people like NaMo and RajT to get popularity, and then she will go against them to get attention of “liberals”. Basically she is spineless and thoughtless.

    Every politician of Bihar had condemned the behaviour of the guy (Rahul Raj?) who showed pistol threatening to kill Raj Thackeray. Every politician had said that the guy was mentally unstable and he was wrong to take law in his hands, but Maha gov was ALSO wrong to use greater than required force.

    In short, this blogger has shown a habit of twisting facts to write bullshit. Yuck!

    1. “The man was threatening to kill Raj Thackeray, so Raj Thackeray should resign.”
      Dear Brainless Blogger, tell me what post was being held by Raj Thackeray at that point of time, from which his resignation was demanded?

  4. bang on!!! I too feel
    Raj Thackeray has good understanding of local problems but can’t agree with this methods. I hope he does something about it and not just talk about it like shiv sena

  5. Your article is not a keen take on migration issue which is happening in Mumbai. You have no idea of What is Bihar and some where it reflects the jingoism. Let me take you paragraph by Paragraph.As your article is specifically written in the context of Mumbai and Bihar and Biharis.
    1. Mumbai has along history and it was developed by Britishers as an alternative to alter too much dependence on Gujarat ports. By the mid of 18th century Mumbai started having influx from all over India. There are lakhs of People from UP in Mumbai who came here more than hundred years back. They have also maintained their connections with UP.
    2. You have put a point that migrant of One state is hated everywhere. U have not named the state but any one can get it is Bihar. Bihar is one the most exploited state in India by all over India. There was a time when all the resources where in Bihar from COAL, IRON, ALUMINIUM and list goes one. Whole India wanted a share from it but what BIhar and Biharis got. In Bihar there are Two functional Thermal power plant in last sixty years. Why?
    It is because all the money and industry was invested in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Why because of the ports? Don’t you find that it is amazing that most resourceful state of this Country has no industry. Why? Because Gujarati and Rajasthani controlled the industry and they invested in Maharashtra and Gujarat. From where the resources are coming. States like BIHAR and Orrisa. What happened to these state? No industry, Poverty and ridicule from all over India.
    Each state is developing but these states remained backward on the cost of the development of other state. Now state government has made strict rules that if any one want resources they have to develop industry in that state. Fate again went against Bihar. After the division all mines went to Jharkhand.
    3. How do you know that Biharis are being hated everywhere? When it comes to laud on the great Indian culture which has developed zero, pie, number system and amazing literature whole India take credit of it but it didn’t happened in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. It happened in Bihar. Biharis never say to other Indian that the glorious past of India belongs to us. If the glorious past of Bihar belong to all over India then glorious future of India also belongs to Biharis.
    6. Culture is one the most misunderstood concept in India specially among Indian. States were not divided on the basis of Culture but on the basis of Language. There are no culture barrier in India but language barrier. Indian culture is same.
    4. Bihar is the center of the three different branches of Hinduism that is Jainism, Sikhism and Bhuddhism. World most advance Yoga college is in Bihar. The whole Ganges plane has a glorious culture. Shivaji Maharaj is not the property and history of Maharashtra. He belongs to everyone In India.

    5. He was a 19 year old Kid Raj who was murdered by Mumbai Police. He was just a teen from a traumatic family background. This is the same police which has allowed to Muslims to vandalize last month but were not able to show any mercy on that kid. he was murdered on point blank distance. The man who murdered him was rewarded by Maharashtra Government.
    A laborer from Gorakhpur was killed by beating. His wife was pregnant.
    How much idea you have about that time. It was a terror not perpetuated by MNS but a terror perpetuated by Congress and NCP. Lakhs of people migrated from different part of Maharashtra. just few days back when NE people were migrating whole India were showing there solidarity to them but no one came forward to show solidarity to Biharis from all over India. At last RSS came forward and took situation in control.
    6. Now let me give you some idea of the whole business structure in Mumbai. It is controlled by two states Rajsathani and Gujarati. South Indian controls hospitality business.
    Rajasthani: Go to any part of Mumbai retail business is controlled by them. There is a unique lobby inside their shops only Rajasthani will work in their shop from their village. If you have ever visited Bikaener Sweets then just ask some of the workers from where they belong. Just try to find out who control the Movers and Packers business in Mumbai. It is Rajasthanis.
    You can do your own research.
    Another example: South Indian control business of Resturant and Bar. Just ask from where people are working in those restaurants. You will find amazing statistics.
    7. Gujarati are the real boss. They control Diamond, Stock Market, Real Estate, Apparel manufacturing, Petroleum and Mining or almost everything. If the company is big then they have to certainly employ people from every where still they control every thing. Just try to find out people from which state having maximum number of business in Goregaon, Andheri etc.
    Do you know why Political part don’t speak against them because they fill their coffers. It is insane to say that a daily laborer from Bihar and UP or from any other pert of India is a creating a problem for Local jobs.

    You know why the real estate price in western Mumbai is insanely high. It is because of Gujarati. they will buy on that line only because it is very easy for them to move to their home place.
    Why MNS and Shiv Sena are attacking people from Bihar and UP? Finance is the point. Why Congress and NCP government is silent. Because in their respective state Bihar and UP congress is not going to win anyting. So why not sacrifice some people. Gujarati and rajasthani can’t be sacrificed because they have the money then who is the bet. Certainly those people who don’t have any thing to offer.
    8. Release of Bhojpuri movies in Mumbai is more than Marathi movie? Why? Business. Bhojpuri movies are cheap in all aspect, small investment, movie is ready in two months and have a large market of Ganges Plain.
    Movie making is all about profit. Try to find out from a Marathi insider that where he wants to work in Hindi Project or Marathi project. His answer will be Hindi. It has nothing to do with culture or language. Big Market big money big profit and better career.
    8.Bihar Government letter on the arrest of that guy who has vandalized Amar Jawan was right. Why because Maharashtra police didn’t coordinated with Bihar Police in such a hish profile case shows that Maharashtra Police was doubting Bihar state government intention. Reaction was certain. No state Police will allow any other state police to doubt their Integrity specially in terms National Interest.
    Have you ever thought that why MNS and Shiv Sena are always interested in non Maharastrian issue? Try to dig some facts. You will be amazed to know that.
    Two more point. Two SC judge who upheld the Hanging of Kasab were from Bihar and the man who is taking on the corruption in India is from UP that is Vinod Rai head of CAG.
    Abhinav Kumar Rai.

    1. Your comment confuses accomplishments or dignity of Bihar with issues of migration. I have spoken up for rights of people in Bihar too. This doesn’t mean that they do no harm to anyone. Also, the current politics being loudest with Bihar, Bihar is an example, but Bihar is certainly not the sole issue on migration. Also, migrants from a certain place being an issue in itself is less a condemnation of the people and more of policy. Migration is a governance issue. My accusations are strictly about the irresponsible attitude of Bihari politicians. Replying as I can.

      1. The people who have been settled hundreds of years in Mumbai are not migrants, regardless of their origins. Just like Parsis are no longer migrants.

      2. That point is with regard to comments made by Nitish Kumar and he happens to lead that state. There is absolutely no doubt Bihar is among the most exploited places in India. Your observations on Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are correct, but to debate them within the context of this article will be very lengthy. Short version is that there are problems from all kinds of migration and migration needs more attention from governmnets. I am not speaking of halting migration – that also isn’t desirable or possible. I am speaking of more governed migration, development efforts including safeguards for local culture as well as integration of new people. This will be a new post.

      3. Biharis being hated everywhere by local populations is not a secret. It isn’t a coincidence that hideous terms like BIMARU come up. That said, dalits are too hated by upper caste people. Women are hated almost universally in India except for a few scattered areas. Though these are superfluous to the purpose of this article. Biharis being hated is also less about them as individuals and more about the impact of migration, where their numbers, cheap rates to work and intrinsic and unchecked xenophobia among many other factors collude to the phenomenon. Your issue with the achievements of Bihar it doesn’t get credited for is beyond the relevance of this article. This article doesn’t talk about anyone’s achievements. Maharashtrians included. I fail to see where including none is a bias against Biharis alone.
      4. Same goes for this point. Religion or famous figures of no region are being described. I fail to see how bringing them up brings insight into migration.

      5. He was not a 19 year old Kid Raj murdered by Mumbai police point blank. He was a 19 year old hijacker of a bus armed with a gun who had injured one passenger already. Funny how your description sounds like a kid playing in the park who got target killed. What does it achieve to leave out the gun, hijacked bus and injured passenger from your narration of “innocence”? I do not dispute what the police should have done. Maybe they should have tried and captured him. Or maybe it is another cultural difference, because “just a teen” from here sure as heck don’t own guns or use them to hijack buses. About the laborer from Gorakhpur killed by beating, it is true. And it was equally wrong. I am not defending this. At. All.

      The conflicts around migration are exactly the reason why migration needs regulated. If you throw people together and ignore them, there is no way of preventing conflicts. No way of solution finding. No one to approach with grievances. The entire leadership space is abdicated to whoever wants to polarize – usually the one who can hit hardest. Be it Assam or Mumbai. Governance extending to monitoring migration is important.

      6. + 7. Fascinating, but way beyond the scope of this article beyond saying ALL migration comes with its own conflicts, which need addressed. Some get addressed easier than others – Gujarat, for example was part of Maharashtra till linguistic states were formed – far less conflicts. Similar with Karnataka. Rajasthan passes from similarities with Gujarati. Punjabis are most certainly noticed as different, as are people from the northeast. There is no democracy in prejudice. It is a game of perceptions – how people feel. The discrepancies in my view are a reason to monitor and address, which is what the article calls for.

      8. This isn’t about availability of films or people not making films. Films already made are refused screening. There is certainly enough Marathi audience. It is cinemas that refuse to host them. Maybe with your profound insight on who owns what, it may be interesting to see who owns cinema houses.

      9. Bihar threatening Mumbai police with kidnapping is way out of line. The requirement is to produce before a local magistrate within 24 hours of arrest. Mumbai police don’t need permission to catch criminals. Another issue is the method of protesting the arrest. Wait. There wasn’t protest, but a threat of filing false cases against the police. Very charming. Where we come from, such things aren’t called “right”. Also it is unclear what objection Bihar government had to a vandal of the Amar Jawan memorial being arrested. If a criminal is expected to flee, as indeed this one was – to Nepal – what do they expect? Also, what expectation was stated, clarification asked for, recommendation made or whatever before the threat? Maybe it really is a cultural difference, but I fail to see how kidnapping cases against police are not a threat, but *if* those cases are filed, calling Biharis infiltrators is? Selective vision much?

      I am no supporter of Shiv Sena and MNS. They are no saints. I am not aware of what “facts” you want me to dig up, but without finding yours, I have plenty of problems with them. Vandalizing the cinema hall yesterday for example or Uddhav’s call for permits to Bihari migrants only, etc. My view on migration agree with the subject they bring up. Beyond that, I’m not adopting them.

      Your last two points I am ignoring, because there is no space here to do comparitive analysis of individuals or keep scores between communities. Nor is that my interest. I have not included Maharashtrian achievements. I am not going to include Bihari ones either.

      1. First of all the perception with which you look at the problem of Migration. Second your tone of the article is aggressive towards people from two states. You have started your article with a perception that people from these two states will be removed from Maharashtra problem will be solved.

        1. Ok then try to find out that these people are attacked or not. u will get ur answers.

        2. Calling a person like Nitish Kumar irresponsible is something like hitting your head on Wall. We all know that what is his achievement and how he has turned around a state. No one knew exactly what is the content of letter. The leaking of letter to a particular person is extremely Political in nature. It was a conversation between two state governments. It should have happened at that level but instead it was used as catalyst to ridicule Biharis.
        3. ur article is about “Migration and Local Population”. Local Population of Mumbai were two caste of Fisherman. One was Koli and other name i don’t know. Please try to find out what happened to these two caste and Population.
        When u r talking about migration then u need to deal with 360 degree facts.
        Can u give me one reason or facts about Biharis being hated everywhere. This is the perception in which you live about Biharis. Your article reflect a level of hate against a particular state and their population.
        You have quoted an example of Assam but have you tried to find out that none incident happened after 2003? Why? Quoting a incident happening in Assam and justifying it with hate is amazing.
        4. Culture and ethnicity are two words people constantly use without actually knowing the real context from where it is emerging. In India Culture is the emanating from Hinduism. If you will watch everything closely India is same everywhere. I will not get in to detail of it but if you really want to know the migration issue on the basis of Culture and Cultural invasion then study the Muslim migration in to Germany, France, England, Netherland, Belgium. You will come to know that what is Cultural invasion?
        5. Again about that Kid the way you are talking never committed a single crime in his whole life. He was clean and he came to find a job in Mumbai. He has some serious problem because of the death of his mother and his step mother. It was a unique hijack in which none of the people were harmed and only hijacker was killed. Maharashtra government never allowed to have a judge probing that case to find out the situation in which the boy was killed. Why?
        Calling a 19 year OLD clean Bihari boy a hijacker and then a Maharashtrian Policeman murdering him at point blank distance will certainly arouse the emotion of a Maharastrian against Biharis. It was a cowardice act.
        Maybe they should have tried and captured him. Or maybe it is another cultural difference, because “just a teen” from here sure as heck don’t own guns or use them to hijack buses. About the laborer from Gorakhpur killed by beating, it is true. And it was equally wrong. I am not defending this. At. All.

        I have said above that people used word Culture in any context without realizing it. See how You are trying to defend your Point of killing a clean 19 Year Old boy (He never committed any crime in his whole Life) an suddenly due to a emotional regional rage created against people from Particular area He was Murdered. You don’t support Shiv Sena and MNS but u support the brutal killing of this Kid.
        It is same as I support all the killings done by Indian Army of Young youth in Kashmir because I think that Kashmir belongs to India.
        I will tell you another story. One person in my Known Circle joined a company in that Period in CBD Belapur and He was an Engineer. He was living in Belapur Gaon. He was severely beaten by local people because he was from a Place in Eastern UP. We went to lodge a complain in CBD Belapur Station and My Personal level experience is hate was oozing from the behavior of all the Police personal towards us. They were not ready to lodge any complain. When I use some of my resources they filed a complaint straight Way and took some action but they failed miserably to provide any security to The Person. he left his Job and went back to his home.
        Now hatred of this type was normal. The same hatred and biased views is present in your article also. It lack a neutral point of view towards fact.
        You accept that Bihar is most exploited state but You are also ready to propose the issue to
        Biharis are the most hated everywhere.
        In Delhi Sheila Dikshit also said something against Bihari and it was a Political approach because in Delhi Bihari vote goes to BJP.
        Can I ask you a question that do you have any idea who created MNS? Why No action was take against MNS during those days? Why in Congress ruling state there is a biased against those people who are from non Congress ruling state.

        Assam is also ruled by Congress.
        if You have closely followed many reports MNS is the creation of Congress NCP to Contain BJP not even Shiv Sena?
        Why there is no such prejudice against Bihari and UP in Gujarat?
        My basic point is What a Maharastrain achieve is the achievement of India. What a BIhari achieve that is the achievement of India.
        Regarding Movies: Gujarati owns funding of money and distribution of movies. they will invest in movies where there is better margin.
        Just try to find out the producer of many Bhojpuri movies and people who are acting in those movies. It will surprise you.
        My view on your article is even if you don’t support Shive Sena or MNS your article and Point of view certainly support both of them.
        Abhinav Kumar Rai

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