Divided we fall!

It has been 60 years to independence and almost 5000 years to the time 'Indians' emerged as a civilization, yet some old habits refuse to die. Take for instance 'Cultural Nationalism', which is based on the notion that one culture is superior to another. Once the proponents of this notion get together, they invent all sorts of stories to substantiate their claims. Over a period of time, a 'victim mentality' develops which implies that the group of people subscribing to the culture are being victimized and biased against. Ghetto mentality kicks in. The entire world becomes the enemy. People take up arms and begin fighting for what they believe is a just cause. And before you know it, a Pakistan is born!

This is exactly what is happening in Belgaon today. A quaint and scenic Marathi dominated town in a Kannada state, Belgaon has been the bone of contention between Maharashtra and Karnataka since the re-organization of states along linguistic lines took place. Time and again, Maharashtra has staked its claim on Belgaon by the virtue of its Marathi majority population and time and again Karnataka has claimed Belgaon as its own, claiming cultural and historical contiguity.

In the recent Vishwa Kannada Sammelan held in Belgaon, one speaker railed against the Marathis. He described the language as an offshoot of Kannada, he described the state as a province of Karnataka, he ascribed the valor of Shivaji to the fact that a Kannada Queen had saved his life and in general he sought to describe the community as unworthy of greatness that it claims for itself.

Tomorrow, these comments would be splashed across Marathi newspapers. The likes of Shiv Sena and MNS would take to the streets. They would issue calls for Kannadigas to be thrown out. If M/s Thackreys are in good health, they would ask for volunteers to march on to Belgaon and save the Marathis from the tyranny of the Kannadas. A few hundred people would be killed, property worth a couple of lakhs would be destroyed and MNS/Shiv Sena would gain a couple of seats in the assembly. Mr. Yedyurappa on the other side of the border would ask for Kannada pride to be re-invigorated and the BJP would in all probability return to power in Karnataka.

So, what is the issue at hand? Is it merely political? I believe that unless people realize that they need to transcend the artificial borders of language, state and religion, these problems would keep cropping up. Marathi may be an offshoot of Kannada. Kannada would have been influenced by Sanskrit. But then isn't that true for most languages? Isn't it obvious that of the lakhs of words that make up the Marathi language, a few thousands would have their origins in Kannada, juts as a few thousand words in Kannada would have been
derived from Tamil? Isn't it a matter of pride for both the Kannadas and the Marathis that a Kannada queen saved the life of Shivaji who ended up being an 'Indian' hero by ridding the subcontinent of the Mughals?

The borders that divide the nation into states are mere administrative formalities. India continues to be a melting pot just as it has been throughout its history. We've welcomed everyone from the Greeks to the Persians to the Arabs to the Turks to the Europeans with a smile and arms wide open. Let us not bicker over non-issues and create rifts that would seal the fate of this great civilization.


Forget not what Iqbal had to say on the greatness of this civilization

'यूनान-ओ-मिस्र-ओ-रोमा सब मिट गए जहाँ से
अब तक मगर है बाक़ी नाम-ओ-निशान हमारा '

It is time to down a Kolhapuri mirch with Mysore Pak!

Jai Hind!