Maharashtra polls: Political parties drumming up Gujarati-Marathi conflict for their self interest

MUMBAI: One of the most talked about issues during the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections has been the Gujarati-Marathi conflict, which has been drummed up by political parties for their self interest.

The former political partners, BJP and Shiv Sena’s, rhetoric against each over the Gujarati community hasn't really ruffled these people --the two most thriving communities in the Maximum City.

The communities, at least for now, have figured out that efforts to drive a wedge between them are mere political games, and may not have any impact on their lives. “I don’t think relationships have been strained. Ultimately, money is the dominating factor in our city,” says noted novelist Kiran Nagarkar.

“But if this divisiveness continues, then it may impact the social fabric. Regional parties using language as a weapon may try to give rise to conflicts and people falling for that line are the ones who do not know our history well and will live to rue the day.” The city has 28-30% Marathispeaking population, and 15-18% Gujaratis. While political parties may try to take advantage of the language divide, intellectuals say that this strategy may not work always.

“Everyone is playing games,” says a noted playwright. “Yes, if parties are playing on differences between communities, people need to be wise enough to see through them. People are smart, but sometimes they tend to come across as fools when they fall for such tactics.” Nagarkar highlights how parties are selectively using historical figures to promote their agenda. “In the past 40 years, there has been a constant denial of our reformers like Agarkar, Karve, Phule, Paranjpe, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy and all the other great Indian souls whose great gift to us was inclusiveness,” says the Sahitya Akademi Award winner.