Ah, the great Indian city! The lack of urban infrastructure destroying the infrastructure of the human soul. By 2020 Mumbai will have a population of 20 million. Bangalore, already with 6.5 million inhabitants has seen phenomenal growth. 300 million Indians... Read The Article
Long before globalization, even before India became free, the King of Mysore had the vision to bring to his state experts from other parts of the land that today is India. Mysore became a model state. Karnataka today includes Mysore state & parts of Madras/Bombay presidencies & Nizam's territory, making it probably the most cosmopolitan state of India in composition & attitude. So, we Kannadigas do not need any preaching about liberal attitudes. It is the parochial & contemptuous attitude of the recent immigrants to B'lore & Karnataka that is at issue. Immigrants anywhere are by definition more enterprising than those who may stay home. It is when they become aggressive that they are contemptuous of the hosts. Kannadigas, as many have noted, are so good as hosts that they hurt themselves, & are helpless when EVERY Keralite, say, brings EVERYONE from his village & transfers the unemployment in Kerala to Kannadigas. It is such tribalism that leads to protectionism. Even so, DeveGowda is asking for a pathetic 30% reservation for Kannadigas. Compare this with Thackeray's demand, & with near-total employment of locals in most of Kerala. Even AP is becoming parochial. While the Kannadiga-founded Infosys has transferred top management to "outsiders", you will find MUCH LESS of that in Satyam or HCL or other IT companies & other industries. Telugus hire Telugus etc. Easy to accuse Mumbaikars or Bangaloreans, but these are the cities that make India a cosmopolitan & polyglot nation. If the locals cannot find jobs, where should they go? How many people can afford to relocate? Even construction jobs in a booming B'lore are taken by Biharis who, having nothing back home, bid low. Unless all regions of the country create jobs, cities like B'lore & their locals will continue to bear the burden of other states AND be accused of parochialism. As many have pointed out, there will likely be big urban explosions in the future esp. if the needs of the locals are derisively dismissed.
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 20:46 )
Darpan Panchal
I still feel mumbai is the safest city in india. Even If crime is on increase, people do respect womens here. When A woman passenger travels by a general compartment in local train, she is very well honoured.
Except for some huligans, others have make MUMBAI PROUDLY THE SAFEST CITY
I Still have faith on Government that they will do something good for us. Please Forward yourself too as a helping hand
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 15:47 )
r u crazy darpan panchal. how can mumbai be most safest place in India. Just go to police station and check the crime graph. The city has gunda's like Raj Thakarey & Bal Thakarey and u call it most safest place. What a joke.
( Posted by Rakesh Mahto on Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 22:52 )
dharm
Dear friend, it is sad to see educated citizens think, discuss and justify a new theory of partition.Why limit it to a state talk about district or a taluka. What is the difference between separatist and them?.
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 11:59 )
Hari
I think the media is definitely negatively portraying Raj Thackeray. I seriously think his speeches should be translated in Hindi and English. Or Raj Thackeray should speak in Hindi/English so oversimplistic people like Sagarika understand the nuances of his arguments. Raj has never said "All" UP'ites/Biharis should leave Maharashtra, only those who either choose to not integrate or contribute to the slum population in the cities. Why is this considered xenophobic. Its a legitimate argument based on economics. If every state would take care of itself, the nation would move ahead on its own instead of some states subsidising other states. What that effectively means that politicians in UP/Bihar are free to what the hell they like while other states have to pay for their misdeeds by having to deal with their droves of migrants. If Bihar and UP governed well their populace wouldn't have to migrate. Is this blasphemous? And I don't appreciate these analogies to Indians going abroad. Indians go abroad and SIGNIFICANTLY contribute to world economies. I repeat SIGNIFICANT. Indian immigrants in the US are considered MODEL IMMIGRANTS and have the highest per capita income amongst immigrant groups. Go look at any academic study on this. Is this the same situation as the migrants from UP and Bihar? You make your decision
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 06:08 )
Then are you saying only skilled professionals should be allowed to migrate? In which court of law will this discriminatory policy will hold ground? Go and visit UAE to see thousands of unskilled keralites earning their livelihood. If you remember unskilled Gujratis came to US and many of them stayed there illigally.
Anyway thats not the point... point is .... if biharis are not contributing to the national development then why not same raj thackarey suggests to give freedom to bihar? ... Still undivided bihar provide 53% of india's raw materials. Still whole of india is getting minerals from this jharkhand (north india)w/o paying anything to state...
( Posted by crisisofid on Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 21:31 )
Same do I think , If you think of Bihar and Bihari's they are everywhere and do all kind of jobs be it skilled,unskilled and they do provide the much needed coal,iron and so many more minerals which is more than 50% of which India consumes,exports whatever...and still does'nt give damn about it.the labours working across the countries are the cheap labours each state gets and still they are the one's whose facing the harshest atrocities about being NORTH INDIAN.Why????Are they are not working enough to run your company?Each state has it's own language and way of speaking and habits...there are so many dialects in Bihar if you hear mithlanchal's speaking their language you will be flattered as the language is as sweet as "mishri" I just don't know on what basis do you want to deferrentiate between Bihari's and North INDIAN.Respect your cultures and languages no matter which state you are..That should be the way of life....few people are saying that even kolkata is ful of outsiders and the bengali's are fuming over it but why??tell me how many bengalis & south Indians are in Jamshedpur alone?Why TATA is in Jamshedpur not in Mumbai or other place?Why JINDALS,MITTALS,TATA'S are extracting all the minerals meant for BIHAR/JHARKHAND to others???Answer me this?When wanted to extract and exploit thing then you never thought of north & south indians and now you do?Shame on all you people who just wait for chances to show the ugliest side of their OWNSELF
( Posted by speak_your_mind on Monday , May 12, 2008 at 18:00 )
Kitty
the difference is, when INdians go to the US, UK , Australia or Europe, they respect the local culture and the local language. If they go to germany or france, they make attempts to learn german or french. In addition, there are limits on how many people can go. Between the Indian states, there are no such restrictions. Moreover, north Indians expect that Bangaloreans speak Hindi as it is the "national language" instead of learning the local langauge. THis is the main difference between Indians going elsewhere and north Indians coming to Bangalore/mumbai
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 02:26 )
That's not true. Indians in Germany learn German because the law forces them to. No German language knowledge, no visa. They do not "respect" the culture when not forced to, as can be seen by the fact that they eat, live, dress the same way they do in India. Except drinking in public and frequenting night clubs that offer pole dance, of course. You can find half the Indian population of any given city assembled at those bars. I have met Indians in Germany who did not know a single German dish. However, the entire arguement is false since countries like Germany and France have only one official language. That does not hold true for India. If you wish to partake in public life in France and Germany, you must speak the local language, so learning them is not a gracious act of cultural eloquence but a need (and a law) as public life (TV, press, theatre, etc.) centre around the local language.
In addition, comparing the ppl movement between countries and regions is futile. Within the US (despite the vastly different cultures) there is no restriction. Every US-citizen can move as pleases him, same holds true for France and Germany. No person from Frankfurt is bullied while he lives in Berlin, though the accent is so different. People feel as a nation, and so they should.
( Posted by Carmen on Monday , May 12, 2008 at 14:33 )
Kittu
Sagarika,
I am a proud Kanndiga and I am also a researcher in Computer Science. I do not need any reservation for kannadigas nor do I support Deve gowda's call for such reservations for Kannadigas; for we are good enough to get jobs by our abilities and talents. However, I am concerned about so called "outsiders" flooding Bangalore. Per se, I am not concerned about people coming in because it is a free country and we are in a globalized economy. However, I do expect people to learn the local language and respect the local culture. Just like if I settle in Delhi, I am willing to speak Hindi, the north Indians should at least make an attempt to learn Kannada and speak kannada with the localites. What is funny is that if the same north Indians go to European countries, they are more than eager to learn French, Italian, German, Spanish etc... or in many cases, for example: if you are a student, you compulsorily have to learn the local language. If the situation keeps growing like this we will see hundreds or Thakrays and Gowdas. I think a sensible solution is to make Kannada/Marathi(or the language of that state in general) language mandatory for every one who settles in Karnataka/Maharashta ( or that state in general). I dont mean students, but everyone. There should be language teaching classes during weekends/evenings and people should have the basic knowledge of the local language. If they do not do this, they should be made to pay slightly higher taxes. I think this is the only solution to the problem of immigrants. Remember, even the illegal immigrants in the US, according to all the presidential candidates, will be required to learn english before they can think of becoming legal. The language of the lands should not be destroyed in the name of Globalization and open economy. UNless such steps are taken right now, there will be far more bigger fights in the times to come.
THanks --Kitty
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 02:19 )
What a crab. Are you in your senses. People going abroad dont go as frequently as the people travel in India, in our country. take me for example, i have been to maharashtra, tamilnadu, karnataka and Orissa too (Not a visit i have stayed there), so does it mean i should learn all those languages. See i am a Telugu but i take pride talking in Hindi which is our national language which means each and every Indian national should know it and respect it. You cant compare any other Regional language with Hindi. My dear friend try to understand the difference between the National Language and Regional Language and also the difference between settling/Travelling abroad and settling in any other state in India. Its our country, we have the liberty to travel anywhere in our India without hesitation its our home. Its like our home, imagine you brother or sister saying you will enter my room only if you live like me or do like me. Absolutely depressing to know that educated people too think like the insensible Politicians who just want votes.
( Posted by Shrawan on Monday , May 12, 2008 at 13:02 )
This just reflects your knowledge about India. You have been brainwashed to think that Hindi is THE nation language. Hindi and English are just languages of the Union. There is no single national language.
( Posted by AJ on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 21:04 )
Dude have you ever heard of the phrase "Unity in Diversity" and respect for 'individuality'.If you get time I recommend book "Thhe Alchemist".Language should not be a barrier, you can talk in any language you wish and still communicate.There's a difference between talking and communicating.Learn to communicate dude before commenting... Just imagine a world where everybody spoke the same language ,followed the same culture, dont you think the world would be a boring place to live in.Variety is the spice of life... embrace it ,respect it. I dont think the so called localites expect anything more than respect from the 'outsiders'.If you dont want to respect them atleast dont hurt their feelings by making fun of the localites, their language and their culture.Just keep in mind that they are just like you,patriots who love their motherland and their mothertongue with all their heart... just like 'you'.
( Posted by Naveen on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 16:57 )
Santosh
Well I read how ppl are thinking abt Mr. Deve Gowda, as Anti IT/BT, anti urban development.... 1) Well can any one tell who gave lands at subsidised rate to International IT companies and brought it to india? A) Deve Gowda when he was Karnataks Chief Minister in 1994. 2)Who is the first person to propose metro rail in entire India? A) Deve Gowda in 1983 which later went to north because of central govt. decision. 3) Who's period INFOSYS grew to such an extent? A) Deve gowda
well it is his bad luck tht ppl never support him just because he is from a village...
I do believe reservation to locals is necessary coz we live in a democracy where govt should help even the most helpless person... can u just see a person die of hunger just because he is inefficient, then why du we need a democracy just we can have a monarchy form of govt where only efficient ppl survive... And outsiders exploit Kannadigas in a lot of ways, like A Bengali HR recruits only a bengali, a thamizh recruits only a thamizh,. a telgaid recruits only a telgaid... Even though the local is competent enough they generally dont take them...
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 02:18 )
very rightly said.. people think SM Krishna is the person who made IT possible in Karnataka, but it was Devegowda's party which did it. outer ring road in B'lore is also becuase of Devegowda. The Media especially TV, has portrayed Devegowda as anti development.. The ITPL, land for IT companies, tax holidays all these were done by Devegowda and it was continued by the CMs who later got elected. Hope people dig deep and understand before making sweeping statements..
( Posted by lakki on Tuesday , May 13, 2008 at 12:43 )
E
Only if resources and industries are distributed across the country can this problem be solved. India doesn't have to be reduced to a Bangalore or a Mumbai then.
( Posted: Sunday , May 11, 2008 at 01:55 )
Riten Dash
It is very strange that Indian intellectuals are missing the forest while counting the trees.Our "democracy" stand on four legs:corruption,vote-banks,dowry and reservation.It is only the muslim commnity in India who have unity and a common goal, and, indeed in a position to take best advantage of the ambivalance of Indian society. Writing on the wall is very clear:fragmentaion of India mostly in Muslim-states. Thus dreadfulness will not remain limited to cities and nights,it will be everywhere and all pervasive.
( Posted: Saturday , May 10, 2008 at 23:51 )
sunil
i have born and bought up in these city,when u say that we need to change as the culture changes ,it might be applicable for few people but not to all,i certainly don't agree atleast there needs to be a consenses because at this rate,one fine day we might see that the local langauge would no longer be there ,it does n't mean that u come over here ,and disrespect the local peopel or the local lanaguage,i have seen people doing these ,an incident happened where non kanniadage gave a peom to be read by his friends which deregards the local people ,there are instints where people are staying here for almost 10 years and least bothered about the local culture or the local lanague,if that is the case ,what needs to be done,if it is happening in their home land like in punjab,or rajasthan would they agree, so certainly people will have to respect the lanague where they live and needs to learn that ,
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