All work and no play makes Raj a dull boy. So what does Raj do? Well, he makes some derogatory remarks about the Chhath festival and stirs up a controversy by stating that there is no place for the North Indians in India’s cosmopolitan capital – Mumbai. His statements are good enough to irk the members of his party and violence breaks out on the streets. And you were wonderingwhat does he do for fun?
Although Raj Thackeray has branched out from the Shiv Sena it is obvious that he is following his uncle’s ideologies. It definitely seems to be working as this has to be his and his party’s only claim to fame. What has worked for him as the icing on the cake is the fact that other local parties have picked the bait and ignited the issue further. As if our existing battles based on differences in caste, creed and color weren’t good enough, there’s a new one to the list.

If Mumbai is only for the ‘Marathi manoos’ what happens to the innumerable taxi drivers from Bihar carrying thousands of Mumabikars around the city, keeping the life flowing through the lanes? What happens to all the Kapoors, Khans and Kumars who’ve placed Mumbai on the global entertainment map? What about those Gujratis who have contributed towards making Mumbai as the financial capital of India? And is Maharashtra willing to take back all the Marathis spread across the nation?

How can a cosmopolitan claim to belong to anyone in particular? Isn’t it a sign of a progressive nation where people irrespective of their differences harmoniously work towards a successful society? What does it say about India then where our leaders are busy creating differences? So reminiscent of the British policy of divide and rule.

What further annoys is the way people are falling prey to Raj’s game plan. North Indians are being attacked and assaulted in Mumbai, effigies of Raj Thackeray are being burnt in Bihar and there’s a feeling of unrest in the country as a whole. Once again while the biggies (Amar Singh and Raj Thackeray) battle it out, it’s the common man who is paying the price for their idiosyncrasies.
That only makes me wonder; Whose Raj is it anyway?