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Journalism of Courage
Maharashtra’s recent row with the Centre over the inclusion of Belgaum in the state has rekindled the fire of identity politics in the five decade old border dispute. Ever since the borders of Maharashtra and Karnataka were drawn as per the States Reorganisation Act 1956,Maharashtra has been demanding that 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnatakas Belgaum,Karwar and Bidar districts be merged with it. The state of erstwhile Mysore was joined with parts of Bombay,Hyderabad,Madras and Coorg to form Karnataka five decades ago under the Act and certain Marathi-speaking areas were merged with in it in the process. The Mahajan Commission constituted by the Centre had rejected Maharashtras claim in 1966 but the state refused to accept the award and continued with its demand.
The Centre had in an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court last week opposed Maharashtras claim over Belgaum district in Karnataka on the grounds that the latter being a Marathi-speaking district was not enough for its inclusion in the state. Calling language just one of the criteria applied during the reorganisation of states,the Ministry had urged the SC to dismiss the demand and impose exemplary costs on Maharashtra.
Maharashtra has long nursed the grievance that the merger was done by the Union Government despite strong protests and agitations by the people of the Marathi-speaking regions,which were earlier with states of Bombay and Hyderabad. With the merger being dubbed an infringement of the rights of the Marathi people,the incendiary potential of the border row not just provides perfect fodder for parties like the Shiv Sena and the MNS but also leaves national parties in an awkward position.
For regional parties the issue has the potential of becoming the rallying point for consolidating their position among Maharashtrians,while national parties will need to balance the demands of their vote bank in the state as well as their national constraints. The Shiv Sena,which has been agitating for inclusion of the Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka in Maharashtra for over four decades,sees in the Centres opposition an issue to revive its sinking fortunes in the State. The Sena has already started its campaign against Union ministers from Maharashtra,chief minister Ashok Chavan as well as NCP chief Sharad Pawar,for failing to act as a pressure group at the centre in favour of Maharashtra. The Senas rival,the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS),has gone a step further by blaming not only the Congress-NCP alliance that rules the state as well as the centre,but also the Sena-BJP alliance. MNS chief Raj Thackeray has asked why was the issue not sorted out during the NDA regime and said the Sena should have compelled the BJP to rule in Maharashtras favour,failing which the Sena should have broken away from the NDA.
The Congress-NCP alliance has not stopped the latter from pointing a finger at its ally after the Central government’s stand in the Supreme Court. Chhagan Bhujbal,Deputy chief minister and a founder member of the NCP,said that Congress leaders and Chavan should pressurise the Central government to remain neutral on the issue,instead of opposing Maharashtras stand.
It is the BJP which is caught in the middle as it is a Sena ally in Maharashtra and in power in Karnataka. Forced to tread the fine line,Karnataka BJP chief Sudhir Mungantiwar said it was not a political issue,but a linguistic one and the state BJP was in solidarity with Maharashtra.
The Congress is not in an enviable position either. Though Chavan put up a brave face after the Centre filed its affidavit against the Maharashtra governments stand,the party is at the receiving end as other political parties have teamed up against it,particularly because the Congress leads the UPAThe party is justifiably wary of the the Sena and the MNS drawing political mileage from the situation even as it deals with the NCP cleverly shifting the responsibility on Congress as the leader of the UPA.
