Visa to Maharashtra....

"Let's make it a separate country...wait for 6 months...then invade and kill all of these so called revolutionaries" -Ankit Singi

"One man's freedom fighter..is another man's terrorist" -Nicolas Cage,Lord of War

If all the states in our country had their way, we might be a Union. Like the European Union, only with infinitely disparate incomes and no social support. Now, the reason why we are still a country is the secularity and tolerance of our forefathers. Gandhi is a name dropped easily in our country. Very few people still follow his ideals, and cult tributes to his name are just for commercial entertainment(Think Munnabhai). Jawaharlal Nehru once wrote an article about the unity of India, stating that what was most perplexing about it was the American viewpoint.

You see, the Americans, at that time wondered if India would not be pulled apart in a thousand different directions, what with all the separate, individual and distinct elements in the country. 60 years on, and things haven't changed much. Gorkhas want Gorkhaland, Telengis want Telengana... everybody wants a piece of the country. Why do they want it? That's a bit more complex. To simplify it however, lets look at the two parameters that make up motivation, money and power. Power is what motivates the Thackerays of our generation. Now I would leave it up to you to decide who the money motivates..

Why don't people realise that it just isn't productive in the long run to alienate an entire group of people based on their ethnicity, language, or religion? Whatever the short term benefits. The world always tends to an equilibrium. The oppressed always get their due. Divisive politics can only win votes for a short while. The end result would surely be a destruction of the very foundations that hold our country together.

Now I don't much like to write about politics. On the grounds that it is not a topic to be written unilaterally on. None of the opinions I express will translate into the opinion of any majority, irrespective of the side that they are on. While the conclusion to Maharastra will only be seen at the turn of this decade, it wouldn't surprise me much if things settle down only after the matter turns sour.