This agitation by MNS chief will certainly hurt North Indians in the short term. However this will cause grave damage to Maharashtra in the long term. Firstly, new investments might be affected. In today's India when invetsments by Indian and foreign companies are coveted by all States, Maharashtra cannot afford to sully its image with regards to law and order. And these incidents are targeted directly towards the working class, the ones who make industries 'low cost', thus enhancing their profits and boosting their market value. If there is a sense that cheap labour is being driven out of Maharashtra and government can't stop it, it could be dangerous for industrial growth. Look at what happened to West Bengal. Mamta Banerjee's agitation not only led to a loss for farmers there but also has given a bad name to the State. Indian industrial houses are thinking twice before investing in ruarl areas of WB now. Gujarat ofcourse was quick to capitalize on Mamta's faux pas and rightly so. If they wouldn't, someone else would have done it.
This agitation has also hurt the image of Marathi Manoos. No matter how much you might cry foul against the Hindi news channels, the fact remains that people across the country are sympathizing with the poor taxi driver whose cab is being smashed and the poor guy is being mercilessly beaten up. And finally the worst nightmare of the Thackreys. Eventually, maybe not now but within a decade, demands will be raised to make Mumbai a union territory. Probably a FCR, Financial Capital Region, which has its own state government and law and order is responsibility of the Centre. If these things actually happen (the second one is already happening), the biggest loser will ironically be the Marathi Manoos.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
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