[Updated September 11]
Posted by Namita Bhandare:
First my column in the Hindustan Times, ‘Thuggery means always having to say sorry’
Hum UP ke log hain, hume Hindi mein baat karni chahiye
- Jaya Bachchan at the promotion of Drona in Mumbai.
If you are from Delhi, then why have you come to Maharashtra?
- Bal Thackeray to Shah Rukh Khan in an editorial in Saamna
Actress and Rajya Sabha MP (Samajwadi Party) Jaya Bachchan’s apparently casual remark sparked off a furore, with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) declaring a boycott of all Bachchan films unless the actress apologised for ‘insulting’ the people of Maharashtra. With three Bachchan films due to be released over the next few weeks, Jaya Bachchan lost no time in saying how very sorry she was. No good, said Raj. The apology would have to be at a public forum in the presence of the Marathi media. It’s over to Mrs Bachchan now.
Now, for the 
Dramatis Personae
1. Bal Thackeray: cartoonist and founder of the Shiv Sena party that made much of Marathi asmita in the 1960s, chiefly targeting South Indians as the evil outsiders who had no business to be in the state. Now an ageing patriarch, he lives in a house calleed Matoshri (in Bandra) surrounded by armed guards and his son, Uddhav Thackeray. Also, edits a newspaper called Saamna where front-page editorials written by him are treated like the gospel. Latest target: Shah Rukh Khan, who he says is a Delhi boy (“If you are from Delhi then why have you come to Maharashtra?”).
2. Raj Thackeray: nephew of Bal Thackeray, once very close, but once the uncle made it clear that his son, Uddhav was the true inheritor of the SS, Raj walked out of the party and of Matoshri to launch his own party called the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena. Now, Raj makes headlines by talking of Marathi asmita, but he is targetting North Indians (like Amitabh Bachchan) as the evil outsiders who have no business in the state.
3. Amitabh Bachchan: Bollywood’s icon-in-chief and, more recently, Big Blogger, was born in Allahabad (in Uttar Pradesh), stood for an election from there and, more recently, starred in a TV ad promoting the state (under his close friend, the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party). Recently said UP was his janmabhoomi while Mumbai was his karmabhoomi. Attacked by Raj in February for promoting UP; AB responded by saying the Constitution gave him the right to live where he chose. Very close to Thackeray senior who has defended him saying he is a big star who belongs to the entire nation, not to any particular state (unlike Shah Rukh who is merely a Dilliwala!).
4. Jaya Bachchan: Actress and Rajya Sabha member for the Samajwadi Party headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav (please see above). In February she clarified that she did not know any Raj Thackeray but that Bal Thackeray was like a father to her (and Uddhav, a son). Recently, sparked off an outrage by remarking, “Hum UP ke log hai, hume Hindi mein baat karni chahiye (we are from Uttar Pradesh and should speak in Hindi),” at a promotion for the film Drona, which stars her son, Abhishek. Raj Thackeray now wants all Bachchan films banned unless Jaya B apologies. With three Bachchan films scheduled for release, including The Last Lear this Friday (plans for its premiere are on hold), Jaya B was quick to say she was very sorry. Not good enough, says Raj. He wants a public apology.
5. Shah Rukh Khan: Bollywood’s other big icon (also called the Badshah of Bollywood) who, it is widely rumoured, has a long-standing rivalry with Amitabh Bachchan (roundly denied by both). He’s a Delhi boy who made good in Mumbai. Said to be also be close to the Congress party and to the Gandhi clan (with whom the Bachchans are katti, following Amitabh Bachchan’s growing proximity to Mulayam and the Samajwadi Party parivaar, with whom the Congress currently has an electoral understanding). Targeted by Bal Thackeray for coming to Maharashtra from Delhi to earn fame and wealth. (Read what BalT said here).
The Plot
The Uttar Pradesh-Maharashtra sons of the soil debate just got messier after an apparently off-the-cuff remark made by Jaya Bachchan, actress and Rajya Sabha MP (Samajwadi Party) on the sidelines of a film promotion.
That remark has united the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), the parties headed by Bal and Raj Thackeray respectively. The uncle and nephew have not been seeing eye to eye and in a move seen as a direct revolt against Thackeray senior, Raj stormed out of the Shiv Sena and launched his MNS party in 2006.
Ever since, Raj has been an angry young man (a role played to perfection by Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya’s husband) in search of a just cause. But why reinvent the wheel? Raj merely picked up where his uncle had left off, taking on the role of messiah for Marathi asmita (pride) and the Marathi manoos.
So, while Bal Thackeray cut his political teeth in Maharashtra by attacking such undesirable ‘outsiders’ as Tamilians and other South Indians, Raj has concentrated on North Indian ‘bhaiyya and bania’ outsiders.
In February this year, Raj managed to provoke responses from Lalu Yadav, the rail minister from Bihar and Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar (who called Raj a shaitan) with his remarks on North Indians who celebrate festivals like chhat puja in Maharashtra.
At around the same time, he also managed to draw Amitabh Bachchan into his little soap opera by claiming that Bachchan — Indian cinema’s biggest icon ever — seemed more concerned about Uttar Pradesh (he was born in Allahabad, stood for a Lok Sabha election from there and is currently very close to Mulayam Singh Yadav, the former chief minister whose party has given his wife a ticket in the Upper House).
Amitabh responded by declaring loftily that the Constitution granted him the right to live and work wherever he chose in India. Jaya went a step further by declaring that she did not know any Raj Thackeray. “I know Bal Thackeray who is like a father to me and his son, Uddhav who is like my son,” she said, dismissing the ousted nephew.
Now, the nephew is on the rampage saying no film starring any Bachchan will be allowed to be released unless Jaya apologises for her language remark and for ’insulting’ the Marathi people. Incidentally, Drona stars both Abhishek and Jaya Bachchan, while Amitabh Bachchan’s The Last Lear is scheduled for a Friday, September 12 release. Plans for its premiere have been put on hold.
Amitabh Bachchan has chosen to respond to this particular controversy on his blog (see response here). But the stand-off remains.
But in a strange twist of events, the Shiv Sena has also got drawn into the controversy with a party spokesman declaring that Jaya should go to states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala and propagate Hindi there. Having said that, Bal Thackeray has now clarified that Amitabh Bachchan is a star who belongs to all of India, while Shah Rukh Khan — Bachchan’s chief rival who is close to the Congress party and the younger Gandhis– is a Dilliwala who basically has no business to be in Mumbai.
For the full story on Reuters click here.
Safe to say, you haven’t heard the last word on this one.
Similar Posts:
- Bal Thackeray vs Sachin Tendulkar
- Holding Mumbai to ransom
- Raj Thackeray: The nephew also rises
- AB’s baby. It’s a blog.
- Sarkar Raj: The importance of being the Bachchans
These people have no other work so they get into contoversies. and so they are called politicians. what should people in Bangalore do?. there a lot of north Indians residing here.most of them students in the IT sector. many who come to study settle here. only 35% of Karnataka’s population are kannadigas. there are people form different parts of the country, Gujarat, Delhi, Assam, UP, Bihar, Orissa, WB, AP, Kerla.. etc. etc.. there people from Nepal, Bhutan,South Africa,Iran..
Well, isn’t that the beauty about living in a free country? How can you impose restrictions on the free movement of people? Every citizen has the right to live where they choose and where they believe they can get a decent livelihood. — Namita
india will never be a developed nation untill
each n every state learn to handle their own people
everyone knows this immigration takes place frm states like up
so we need to stop this thing first
35% of bangalore populatn is kannadigas
that is why its in really bad state
i personally don’t want to see mumbai like that
so its better to stop the immigratn nd develop these states like up nd bihar
before these major cities turn into crap
nd its jaya bachchan started this thing, nd raj thackeray is banned frm givin this speech
if we ourselves do not learn to give respect to others cultures, how india cn progress
“hum to up ke hai, to hum maharashtra me hindi hi bolenge”
u living in maharashtra for 2-3 decades, how cn u say that??
hindi, english not banned in maharashtra bt atleast u cn learn sme basic marathi
this is the issue
raj thackeray is the leader, maharashtra desperately needs right now
Milind, thanks for your response. In a free and democratic country how do you stop immigration of people? People who come to Mumbai from outside, come in search of jobs and a better life for themselves and their children. If we stop free movement of people in our own country, nobody will ever get an opportunity to leave their villages. Also, let us not forget that it is immigrants into Mumbai who also contribute to the economy (Dhirubhai Ambani was an immigrant and so was JRD Tata, whose ancestors came from Iran). Not just industrialists but also taxi drivers.
To your second point, Jaya Bachchan never said hum Maharashtra mein Hindi hi bolenge. Hindi is the national language. We enjoy Hindi movies, Hindi songs. Though to my mind, Jaya Bachchan must have known she would provoke a response from Raj Thackeray when she made that statement. Best regards, Namita
Hindi is not the national language of India
It is the official language of India
who said, who said…..
ppl who come to mumbai frm outside come in search of jobs nd better life…yes, bt y they need to come here, they can have better life n jobs in up, nd now its time to make Uttar Pradesh developed nd to avoid future such cases………
y always UP migrants, in assam, punjab, bangalore, there are protests
so accept the fact, nd start doing something to avoid such immigrations
yes immigrant contributed, who said them to leave?
nd speakin of contribution, i cn too give u the list of contributions by maharashtrian ppl, its not about contribution……….
jaya bachchan said………” hum up ke hai, hum hindi me hi bolenge, maharashtrains hume maaf karo”
wht does that mean
can u go to the south and say, hum hindi me bolenge
south indian don’t even response, they will kick u out
so its time to get serious about the problem faced by local maharashtrian people because of such immigration
its not about we hate other languages, ppl from Uttar Pradesh, ask these people who r here since many decades, but immigration now shud stop, and how this stops is the government who should decide….
HINDI IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF INDIA
INDIA HAS NO NATIONAL LANGUAGE
THIS IS A FACT
I LOVE HINDI BT BECAUSE OF IT, OTHER LANGUAGES SHOULD NOT GET SIDELINED
MNS=Neo Nazi’s/Racist Group of the Southern Part of US
North Indians=Hispanics.
The similarities are so strikingly close. It’s like looking in a mirror. You can’t escape them all, can you?
Milind: thanks for the clarification official not national. I believe that the idea that people of a free country should not be allowed free movement to live and work in a place of their choice is absolutely repugnant. It is also against the Indian Constitution. All great cities in the world — London, New York — are what they are because they are melting pots of culture and civilisation.
Proud Indian: Well, neither Raj nor his estranged uncle, Bal have ever hidden their great admiration for a man called Adolf Hitler!
Thanks for writing in.
free movement [immigration] is fine….
bt immigration number is very high…
its fine people from uttar pradesh come and live here, no problems with that at all
but, the number of people coming to maharashtra from uttar pradesh and living here is very very high and increasing ridiculously…….this is the main problem……..
at this rate maharashtrians naturally will feel insecure like what punjabis, assamese, kannadigas feel…..
they should be allowed to live n work in place of their choice, only if they can pay taxes and afford to, otherwise where they go? zhopadpatti, slums, dharavi…..
so its good for those immigrants and good for the local people like taxiwalas, ticket checker in railways [in maharashtra only 20% of tcs are maharashtrian] as well
that there should be some limits …..
india is not america or england, indian states specially up and bihar need to give these immigrants opportunities there n there itself, so that they don’t have to leave their places…..
adolf hitler……that is their poingof view that they like adolf hitler
i like saddam hussain for what he has done to save their land from iran……
but thackerays clearly said they know their limits, they will never go beyond maharashtra
The Thackerays are heroes – in his own eyes and that of a few musclemen. They know very well that they wear all imported stuff and have been educated under imported systems. Its simply becasue the rich Marathi culture which has its own charm and uniqueness does not have anything for him to integrate into the global community in India and elsewhere. I only hope their children will grow up as better humans and as a first priority adopt an original Marathi surname – such as Shivaji or Tilak or Gokhale – rather than the imported English surname of Thackeray.
Hi Milind,
Please try to look beyond the obvious for understanding why these people from UP and Bihar migrate to Mumbai or Bangalore. Its because of utter neglegance of these states, and divisive/ caste based politics that has been played by government in centre. In lack of any options for basic survival needs, people are left with no options, but to migrate. Given a choice of earning in their own state no one would like to leave a place where he/she is born. This includes everyone…you and me.
I want to ask a question to whom, who thinks people should not migrate from any place to Maharastra “ are u educated ? – if yes , r u working in some MNC ? – if yes, if ur company will send u to uk or us will u go ?
I know , every body will say yes. What ever u r doing with up people , if uk people will do the same thing with u then what will u feel that time.
If u think no one should come to Maharastra then first be sure the u will not come out from Maharastra and no one from ur family will go to us, uk for study or work.
And if your answer is no from starting then no issue because no body expecting any thing from u neither ur family have any expectation from u.
Sunil: the whole question of choosing where to live is a non-issue because the Constitution guarantees every Indian the right to live and work where they choose. This debate, unfortunately, will keep raging until the Assembly elections next year because it touches on such an emotive issue.
Vinay: thanks for your response. Totally agree with you.
Mahadevan: Legend is that Thakre (senior) was a great fan of the British author William Makepeace Thackeray — hence the strange spelling!
Thanks all for writing in. Namita