Speak Marathi and keep out other ethnic groups?...

That is what Balasaheb Thackeray implied in a recent editorial. I agree with this article that it is not the case. The British have been speaking English for a long time and have not been able to keep out Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. It is not the opportunity to speak a language, but opportunity to live a peaceful life, earn a living and do business that gets people to Maharashtra or Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh.

There are many kinds of migrations into a city or area. There is the low level migration of unskilled labor, which mainly happens to escape poverty, lack of opportunities and degradation in small villages. This migration happens with Maharashtrians too. Then there is semi skilled labor that are looking for specific opportunities in construction, manufacturing or even driving auto rickshaws, cars. Then comes the skilled variety which typically nobody minds.

The issue is mainly about the unskilled and semi-skilled labor. Thanks to good governance and overall logistical and political history, Maharashtra is a well to do state. Biharis and Keralites alike end up here for jobs and opportunities.

The way to keep out other groups is to regress in humanity and be the incarnation of Rakshasas (Think of some of the desert nations). People migrate to Maharashtra because it is closer to the Gods mentioned by Tukaram and Namdeo and revels in prosperity. The day people leave Maharashtra will mean something not necessarily good. Notice that when it is time to leave, Lebanese leave Lebanon, Iraqis leave Iraq and so on. When it comes time to leave, everybody leaves and the lights go off.

If we firmly believe that Good always triumphs over Evil, migration of people into Maharashtra will eventually result in more Maharashtrian values. That will reduce non-Maharashtrians in the state. A Bangladeshi on a fake ration card living in Maharashtra eventually becomes a Maharashtrian as he embodies Maharashtrian values. So it is really not about the language you speak, but who you become when you live among the good folks in Maharashtra. So be a Maharashtrian and imbibe Maharashtrian values. That is how Ganesh Chaturti gets celebrated all over India.