Here is one bold prediction for the people of Maharashtra, in the next five years nothing is going to improve for you, especially if you live in the city of Mumbai. You will have to keep going out of the city to have a good time, especially to those seeking peace and calm. Your commute to office; be it the Western Railway or the Central Railway will remain the same, packed like sardines and it will not matter if you have a first class or a second class pass. When the rains arrive you will be forced to stay indoors or commute in knee deep water because Mumbai politicians and bureaucracy are yet to find a solution to stop the flooding in low-lying areas. You will be haunted by imposing larger than life posters of politicians all over the city, which are not only an eyesore, but also a reminder to the voting public that they are the rulers.
No, this is not some Nostradamus type prediction, but based on a simple theory of cause and effect. Recently the Maharashtra government was sworn in, and in attendance were people from the business, sports and films, supposedly influential with large followings on social media. In other words, most of these so-called personalities can easily sway the opinion of the public or at least their followers. So, were these invitations sent strategically to buy their silence so that it indirectly insulates the government from any future criticism? Looks like, because no one present at the oath ceremony is now going to speak out when these politicians shun their oath or falter in providing the service they are expected to deliver.
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Hence the prediction, nothing is going to improve for the Mumbaikars, the influential have been gagged and nobody will have the guts to openly challenge or be critical of the system. Best case, these so-called celebrities might contact the politician to beg for personal favours rather than request for something that could be beneficial to the entire society. So here is what is going to happen to the city of Mumbai, there will be pockets in the city that will remain world class especially where these celebrities reside or work, while the entire city in general will remain pathetic, so miserable that when a foreign dignitary arrives the government will save itself from embarrassment by covering the bad portions with plastic sheets.
Not everybody can be gagged though; time and again the Marathi manus has fought for issues that are largely beneficial to the society. While we can all argue on their method, these individuals, mostly frustrated, are not fighting for some fancy share in the city but mostly for crumbs, sometimes for jobs and many times for the Marathi language. Unfortunately the Marathi manus has been mostly taken for a ride by their politicians and their anger channelised smartly to further their own political career, while passing on crumbs to keep them in good humour. Lastly, even their own Marathi manus Chief Minister has been demoted to being a deputy, only proves that the Marathi manus will be relegated at the first opportunity.
There is a background as to why the Marathi manus is always termed as someone that is perpetually angry, people came into their territory, succeeded, became wealthy and the helpless Marathi manus could not do a thing about it. Partly they are at fault for not having a proper work ethic or for not being motivated enough to succeed, but how can you fight a system that was cleverly rigged against them. The Bombay Stock Exchange was opened in their territory and hardly any Marathi manus became a member of the cartel. Company announcements in the stock exchange building were made in Gujarati followed by Hindi and English on the public address system giving a head start to those brokers who understand Gujarati to trade before others. This is a big deal, because the National Stock Exchange landed in trouble in the co-location scam just because they favoured some high frequency traders a split second advantage to trade. Imagine a minute advantage over the public address system.
While the Marathi manus was being taken for a ride within the confines of the Stock Exchange, their anger was channelised to get Marathi numerical figures on BEST buses in vantage points. The lucrative deals were done in Gujarati, while Marathi was being used as a tool to give the locals a sense of achievement. So while the Gujaratis became wealthy in Maharashtra the Marathi manus was pushed to the corner, mostly given the charge of organising festivals and their silence bought with huge donation amounts.
Goans need to understand that the same storyline is playing out in Goa. Goans will be eventually sidelined and the lucrative part of the market will be forcibly cornered by others. Like the Marathi manus, Goans have been taken for a ride, made to fight on issues that we feel is a matter of pride only to realise that the big bucks are being rigged to be cornered for a few. If Mumbai is some example to go by with, Goa is being positioned as a playground for the rich Indians. There will be some pockets that will be world class, while the rest of Goa will be made to rot. The only roadblock in this sinister plan could be our education and Goan crazy love for their land. Goans will identify quicker than the Marathi manus as to when we are being taken for a ride.
Don’t confuse and take your anger on the poor migrant labour, they are really not a threat to Goa; they will take the first train home once Goans figure out how to do their daily house chores on their own. The real threat is the influx of the arrogant rich who with their force of money are hell bent on messing Goa to such an extent that it looks like the same messy place they come from. By the way, Goa is not the only one suffering from this, even the beautiful hills in the north-eastern part of our country are being threatened.
No idea, who is financing these biased social media influencers to do a hit job on Goa from time to time, but Goans have an advantage of hindsight, we can easily unlearn the trials and tribulations the Marathi manus has faced in their own land to make sure we do not
get relegated.
(The author is a
business consultant)
