On Tue, 2005-12-13 at 18:39 +0530, Srini RamaKrishnan wrote: > My limited observation tells me that the Sena support is strong among > many Maharashtrians. If the Sena is rejected, what choice does a > Mumbaikar have? To watch mutely as the Bangaldeshis supported by the > Dawood and other sects troop in? I'm not saying that there is much > choice in the matter, but for one reason or the other, most > Maharashtrians have chosen to stay with the Sena.
Having been in Bombay for many years and having interacted with many Maharashtrians I would disagree. I don't think you can associate Mumbaikar to Maharashtrian. And support for the Sena isn't very strong right across the Maharashtrians either. Bombay like most other big cities seems to have an identity of its own which is seperate from that of the state to which it belongs. I think most people in Bombay prefer to be tagged as Bombayites/Mumbaikars rather than as any other ethnic group. This is especially true of those who have been here for longer. The ethnic group tag is mostly secondary. As for the Maharashtrians in Bombay - a good many of them are immigrants as well. So they too have this dual tag mindset. I think most of us have this notion of being from Bombay and additionally having this association to a "gaon" (village/native town) that we visit every so often. This is true of the Maharashtrians as well as "the others". There are some people who associate themselves only with Bombay - those whose families have been here for several generations. And you will find both Maharashtrians and "the others" in this group as well. One other point - I've noticed that most of us here don't mind using 'Bombay' or 'Mumbai', sometimes both in the same sentence. It's all the people who are not from here who insist on being politically correct about it. -gabin -- Gabin Kattukaran <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
