Chetan Bhagat: My Community, My Country

The recent proposed Marathi language requirement for taxi drivers in Mumbai (and the subsequent backtrack) shows that divisive politics is alive and kicking in our country. We are fortunate that this scheme didn’t sail through, for it would only have been the start. For why only cab drivers, why not BEST bus drivers? How about drivers of trains operating in Maharashtra (complete with ceremonial crew exchanges at the state borders maybe?). If taxi drivers need to speak Marathi, then maybe cooks at restaurants do too?

Yes, we are in 2010, but rather than fix the rickety, old, third-world inspired cabs, our lawmakers choose to tug at the hearts of Marathis. The Marathi voter is supposed to say See he cares, vote for him!

With due apologies, sorry, but he doesn’t care. Because what he is doing is harmful to the taxi business, harmful to the state and harmful to the country. Let us talk about them one by one.

First, the taxi business. Taxi-driving is a commercial activity, not a social service. And any business thrives only if it services its customers. Does the customer care if the driver speaks Marathi, as long as he can communicate with him? There has been no surge in grievances about language problems with Mumbai taxis. However, complaints about dilapidated and smelly taxis remain unaddressed. If these issues are fixed, customers will take more taxis, pay more and increase the financial health of the taxi business including drivers. Imposing language norms won’t.

Second, such actions harm the image of the state. Maharashtra is blessed to have a city of national importance within its geographical limits. Mumbai can be a means to bond with the rest of the country, not a symbol of division. Also, Maharashtra claiming Mumbai and its wealth as its own is foolish. Mumbai-based corporates do pay a large amount of taxes. However, they do business and make profits from all over the country. The taxes they pay come from these national profits. Take away the rest-of-India business for MumbaiMaharashtra-only way of doing business is regressive, impractical. It pushes away pan-India inclined investors and, without them, it is the state’s children who lose out on job opportunities. companies and most of them will be bankrupt. India is integrated as far as trade, commerce and finance is concerned. Geography has increasingly become irrelevant. To continue to harp on physical location is a lack of understanding of the modern world, and any leadership which lacks that cannot uplift its people. The

Third, such proposals are terrible for India. We are a poor country with limited capital for development. Our best shot at advancement is if we concentrate our efforts on one national agenda of progress, rather than on pulling in different directions. Even in practical terms, the central government controls the finances of the nation. If the states rebel, it will only lead to chaos. Foreign investment will suffer, Parliament will be an inter-state battleground rather than a place where things get done and we will remain, like we have for the last 60 years, a third world country.

So what is the solution? How can we check these divisive knife-wielders who are only too happy to cut up our people at the slightest provocation? What do we do about people who refuse to look at the big picture but only care about the next vote count? Here are three suggestions:

One, any act of preference to any community which may disadvantage other Indians should be made illegal. Too many laws are never good, but anyone favouring one community is by definition harming the prospects of the others. If this is not racism, what is? And racism should be illegal, even if disguised as a welfare scheme.

Second, we as Indians need to decide for once our primary loyalty whether it is to the country or to community. If we choose country, we have a good chance of becoming a progressive nation. If we choose our state first, things won’t change. Are you a change agent or are you a roadblock? Decide, and live with it.

Third, Indians need to intermingle. This is not an overnight process, but migration, education outside the state, inter-community marriages should be culturally encouraged. A case can even be made for tax incentives (such as lower property taxes) for people who work outside their home state. A pan-Indian race, maybe still a generation or two away, will be extraordinarily beneficial in moving us towards the status of a developed nation. Almost any Asian country that saw rapid development enjoyed homogeneity amongst its people.

For now, state leaders need to respect the privilege they have of being part of a great nation. A national process overseen by the Election Commission has elected them. For all their state jingoism, they have no business to interfere with national progress. This is harming their own state anyway. For, they may force their taxi drivers to speak a local language. However, if there are no customers in the backseat, the meter does not tick and the taxi driver takes no money home. And that, in any language, is not a good thing.

Source:Times Of India.