Increasing pressure on the city dwellers from the political parties to follow their line of thoughts is evident during the last few years. The political parties like Shiv Sena in Mumbai is trying to play identity politics to its extreme by identifying Mumbai with 'Marathi' cultural ideom rather then its cosmopolitan identity. Mumbaites like any metropolitan city does not need a stamp of approval from 'Thackray' and Cos to live their life in city. City has been at ransom of goons and anti social elements mostly belonging to this political party who claim to save the interest of 'local'. Who is local in Mumbai? Urbanisation has rubbed the identity of Marashtrian folks in a wrong way similarly as it would have done in Kolkatta, Delhi, Chennai or any metropolitan city.
People identity in INDIA of being Indian first, and rest second is being challenged by the Shiv Saniks in Mumbai and threatning celebraties from Film Industry, Politics or Manufacturing sectors allows them to gain control of Mumbai's social-political life. People at large are not supportive of identity politics but its the interest groups who are going to gain from this conflict in the society.
Today the massive urban character of Mumbai is at risk and might lead to exhodus of people in the wake of uncontrolled provocation by Sena elements in the social life of city. What is to be gained by the 'Sena' would be serious loss of Mumbai as a city. It time for the society to reject and assert the identities which they would like to live in cities like Mumbai and do not fall in pray of shifting the side from being Indian to unbeing of 'Maharashtra'!
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