Recently, I have been following a multitude of media reports of the Shiv Sena blasting Mumbaikars left right and center for not being Maharashtrians enough.
All of which gives rise to a moot question – who is a Mumbaikar? Is it someone who lives in Mumbai, or is it a so called “Marathi manoos” – an ethnic Maharashtrian living in Mumbai? Having lived in Mumbai myself, I strongly believe it is the former. It is the people of Mumbai who will define Mumbai, not the Shiv Sena. In any case, Mumbai owes a lot to non-Maharashtrians who have contributed significantly to its growth.
The Shiv Sena promotes itself as a saviour of the Marathi Manoos, but is hell bent on alienating the same Marathi Manoos from the rest of the Indian Diaspora. Maybe the question Sena should be asking itself is “Whose Sena am I?”