Now, will India speak up on Racism????

Following the row that happened on Big Brother regarding the racist slurs against Shilpa Shetty, something close home has once again exposed the fact that India also puts down certain sections of society. Now, wether this will be termed racist is open to debate. But, Bollywood Actress Hema Malini's comments regarding the immigrant population in Mumbai has sparked a row about the migration problem in Mumbai.

Being a Cosmopolitan and a thriving City, Mumbai is the melting pot of India. People from almost all over India come to mumbai to have a slice of the prosperiety which mumbai promises. Most of Mumbai's population is migrant, mostly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The people from this part of the country have slowly but surely managed to influence the way Mumbai functions. These people have established their presence in majority of the businesses in Mumbai. The Majority Marathi speaking population have been left behind, which is the reason why extreme right wing parties which claim to represent the Marathi people carried out demonstrations some time ago.

The Shiv Sena, a political right wing party, has always considered these immigrants as unwanted. For most of the times, they have targetted the immigrant population, thus making them feel unwanted in this city. The comments by Hema Malini seem to be a furthur continuation of the Anti-immigrant programme. This is the same party which engages in Propoganda against the Muslims and creates communal tensions each time a particular incident occurs in the city. But, for such a mindset to exist in the 21st century is detrimental to the very factor of prospierity and development.

The future of Mumbai lies in its Multi-Culturalism. The people of mumbai, however diverse their backgrounds might be, form an essential part in the development of the financial capital of India as well as the whole of India. However, the state government must have a clear cut solution to the migration situation. Unchecked migration will lead to the stagnation of the Infrastructure of the city. The factor of unchecked migration will only increase the woes of the city, notably in areas of Crime, Exploitation and Poverty. If comments like those made by Hema Malini are to be avoided, then the government has to act now. History is proof that Multi-Cultural cities have always been on the forefront of development, lets hope Mumbai doesn't buck the trend.