Time for Sena to put its sons-of-the-soil template in place

In politics, there are seldom organizations like the Shiv Sena which, despite the rhetoric over the rights of the sons of soil – incidentally, its raison d’etre – allows its core vote base to erode under its watch.

However, by a quirk of fate, the recent reverse migration from Maharashtra to the cow belt, has presented the Sena-led regime with an opportunity to translate its worn-out rhetoric into action.

It had been mandated since 1968 that industries subsisting on incentives from the State must employ 80% locals (those domiciled in Maharashtra for 15 years). However, even Shiv Sena leaders are loath to admit that a significant chunk of the workforce consists of contract labour, who are not covered under the rule.

On May 18, Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray -- sensing the drift -suggested that since migrants were returning to their home states, local youth should seize these opportunities. It was apparent from Thackeray’s off-the-cuff remarks that with the Shiv Sena in power and the party chief heading the government, it will be under intense pressure from its core constituency to translate its decades-old political template into action, by providing support systems and enabling mechanisms to the sons of soil.

When it comes to the contentious issue of migration and the done-to-death local versus outsider debate, there are stereotypes, and stereotypes about stereotypes. Like most superficial perceptions based on the “us versus them” supposition, such debates often lack depth.

Migrants, be it a Maharashtrian techie who has migrated to San Jose, or a daily wager from Uttar Pradesh working in Mumbai, have an economic advantage over locals. Coming from a weaker economic background than the sons-of-soil, they seek upward mobility and social equity and are often willing to work for lesser wages.

Though north Indians have been gravitating to Mumbai and Maharashtra since the colonial era, this process accelerated postIndependence. North Indians, or ‘Bha-iyyas’ as they are called pejoratively, ambled into the informal sector, and also made some foray in the organized sector.

However, the shutdown of Mumbai’s textile mills, which employed around 2.5 lakh workers, largely Maharashtrians in the 90s, the city’s subsequent de-industrialisation, and growth of the service sector, which employs those with niche skill sets, led to a massive dispossession.

This forced the Maharashtrian working class to shift gears and move into the informal sector, as hawkers, daily wagers, and contract labour, where they had to compete with the ‘Bhaiyya,’ who would work at cheaper rates and use it as a leverage in this intense competition for opportunities and resources. The in-formalisation of the economy, and a fresh influx of migrants into Maharashtra, compelled the Shiv Sena to reconcile with the changing political matrix and mend fences by choosing Hindutva over Marathi.

However, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) launched by Uddhav’s estranged cousin, Raj, tapped the frustration among workingclass Maharashtrians, upsetting the Shiv Sena’s apple cart for a while. Today, the Sena and the north Indians maintain an off-on relationship, while Raj is gradually turning a corner by shifting to soft Hindutva to usurp any political space that the Sena may vacate. The Shiv Sena’s expedient alliance with “secular” parties like the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), may compel it to put Hindutva on the backburner. It may now be forced to recast itself as a regional force, like the nativist parties in South India, and forge a larger pan-Maharashtra social coalition, where the jobs for sons-of-soil agenda will come handy.

However, the fact that the Shiv Sena chose to canvas on this issue over five decades after its formation, exposes its chinks. It has failed to link language politics to the economic life of Marathi speakers. While the Sena is credited with ensuring the presence of Maharashtrians in government and public sector jobs, it failed to foster entrepreneurship among them beyond the ubiquitous wada pav stalls. Barring a shortlived attempt by the Shiv Udyog Sena, which was led by Raj, who was then in the Shiv Sena, it has not prodded Maharashtrians to become job givers instead of job seekers.

There is an anecdote, albeit unverified, about the nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak, who was told by one of his supporters that he had seen a dream wherein he had become the District Collector (a prestigious position in colonial times). An upset Tilak is said to have asked his supporter to dream big. Dream of becoming the Viceroy of India, rather than the Collector of a mere district, the Lokmanya is said to have urged. Perhaps this holds lessons for the Shiv Sena and its ilk.