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Feb 8 / Vimal Pannala

Let us not allow mob violence (or threats of it) go unpunished

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However cheesed off we might be at the Shiva Sena and MNS and the Thackereys in general for bullying the state and several eminent personalities, they are succeeding in scoring political points. Together, there is little doubt that MNS and Shiv Sena both live off controversies such as the ones created by their opposition to Pakistanis / Australians in IPL, or criticism of Mukesh Ambani, Shahrukh Khan etc. etc. for saying the obvious that Mumbai and Maharashtra are a part of India. Without these controversies, the political discussion in Maharashtra shifts to real issues like governance, development, law & order etc., a discussion that is neither very interesting to catch eyeballs consistently nor something that both parties have any major experience in, especially in the last 10 years or so. MNS is a new party, and being in the news either for right or wrong reasons is even more important for them. One more party in in the “marathi manoos” political space can only mean higher competitive intolerance as both parties try to raise as much hue and cry as possible to remain relevant. That Thackerey Sr. (what is his locus standi on the issue?) needs to be met by the BCCI President to convince him on not protesting the presence of Australian players in IPL is a pity – he and his band of followers should be be detained for threatening disruption of screenings / matches.

By giving them importance, by cowing down when threatened, too many well meaning folks & celebrities allow them to capture attention, and talk about these small “victories” to their electorate as if they brought respect and justice to Maharashtra. Parochialism in states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh is unfortunately not limited to political discourse and has seeped into people’s minds. While political parties will do whatever it takes to gain mileage, it is a pity the state and central governments have not done much to stop them and show them their place. A couple of years behind bars would sober them down, and prevent others from taking advantage of mob violence (or threats of it) & narrow regionalism for political gains.
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