No Maharashtrian shall tolerate the anti-Marathi venom spewed by Karnataka’s Urban Development Minister Roshan Baig. It was after the ministers comment the news spread that in response to the agitation in Maharashtra; Karnataka too shall launch its own movement. In this we see pitting two people against one another for one’s own profit. The persons who are affected by this agitation are Indian citizens whether they speak Marathi or Kannada. This reduces the unity among Indians and so debilitates the nation. Even though there is a difference between Maharashtra and Karnataka on the Belgavi issue, but they share a religious and cultural identity. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was a Kannadiga but the Marathi people were his greatest fans. The Saint Kalawati Aai was born in Karnataka but she has many devotees in Maharashtra. There are numerous devotees of Saint Dnyaneshwar and Saint Tukaram in Karnataka. Thousands of devotees from Karnataka come to Holy places in Maharashtra e.g. Shirdi , Pandharpur, Narsobawadi and Tuljapur. Similarly thousands of Maharashtrian pilgrims are seen visiting Gangapur in Karnataka. A minister is now trying to break the thread of common identity for the sake of regional and linguistic identity.
Vilas Pundle
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
