That is why most non-Marathi speaking people believe that the Shiv Sena represents and manifests the Maharashtrian ethos and identity. For the English media, in particular, the historical figure of Shivaji Maharaj symbolises the aggressive pride of Maharashtra and it is taken as a given that the Shiv Sena supremo, Balasaheb Thackeray, reflects the militant Marathi character. For some pan-Indian journalists, Sharad Pawar is yet another symbol, but more of cunning power politics than Marathi ethnicity. Within Maharashtra he has begun to get identified more with Maratha caste politics than with Marathi identity.

Yes, Pratibha Patil will be the first Maharashtrian resident of Rashtrapati Bhavan. But the streets and towns of Maharashtra are unimpressed. Even the Shiv Sena, which chose to jeopardise its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party on this issue, has not given any call for mass celebrations. The Maharashtra Congress, as usual, is in a state of deep inertia and has no inclination for spontaneous festivities. The state BJP is as hostile to Pratibha Patil as it is to Sonia Gandhi. The so-called Left parties, which once played a dominant role in Maharashtra politics, are so completely irrelevant that they too cannot generate any enthusiasm. For the people, it is a huge non-event. The capital of the state, Mumbai, is too concerned with coping with the monsoon rains and fluctuations on the stock exchange to be absorbed in the presidential election. The point is, most of Maharashtra is neither particularly proud nor negatively disposed. The mood on election day, on Thursday, was one of indifference — not cynical but not exuberant either.

To non-Maharashtrians, this may appear to be strange. But the fact is that the average Marathi person is far less ethnically chauvinistic than he is made out to be by the Shiv Sena and the English media. With malice towards none, one can say that Maharashtra does not have the ethnic-cultural-linguistic pride which is so dominant in Bengali, Tamil, Telugu or Punjabi societies.

In communist West Bengal, from Vivekanand to Jyoti Basu and from Rabindranath Tagore to Sourav Ganguly, each stalwart generates proud ethnic waves. In the south, MGR in Tamil Nadu and NTR in Andhra Pradesh captured people’s imagination. There is nothing comparable to this regional pride in Maharashtra. It is necessary to underline here that Balasaheb Thackeray does not create waves across Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena has never received and will never receive more than 30 per cent of the vote, and that too in alliance with the BJP. Most people do not recognise that despite its many progressive movements led by Mahatma Phule, Shahu Maharaj and Babasaheb Ambedkar, Maharashtra is deeply caste-ridden and often very reactionary. For instance, Maharashtra has never considered a woman as chief minister. Once in the early eighties, when Pratibha Patil’s name appeared in the media as a possible candidate for the post, it was quickly dismissed and never mentioned again. Can a state that would not countenance her as chief minister really be proud of her for becoming the rashtrapati? Indeed, the male-chauvinist and patriarchal political class will now use her presidential achievement to deny the chief minister’s post to any woman!

The important thing to note is that Marathi political identity is a non sequitur. That is why there is a movement to separate Vidarbha from Maharashtra. There is nothing common between Marathwada and Konkan. Marathwada has the legacy of the Nizam’s rule. It became part of Maharashtra state only after the idea of linguistic states was politically implemented. Konkan is culturally so ‘sovereign’ that it does not even recognise Vidarbha and Marathwada. Mumbai is another case altogether. It is far more cosmopolitan than any other city in India. Indeed, it is this overwhelming cosmopolitanism of Mumbai that has led to the cultural ghettoisation and chauvinism of the Marathi community in the city. This clinging together is in no way ethnically or culturally related. For a Konkani person in Mumbai, the Vidarbhaite is as much alien as a Bhojpuri.

Pratibha Patil comes from Jalgaon, which is part of Khandesh. This region is so marginalised in terms of development that it hardly gets noticed in the media. Khandesh is not even part of a large identity like Vidarbha, Marathwada or Konkan (Pune is another phenomenon altogether). There is no reason for a Konkani person or a Puneite or anyone in Vidarbha or Marathwada to feel greatly enamoured of Pratibha Patil becoming Rashtrapati.

Once she is formally elected, of course, there will be celebrations orchestrated by the Congress Party, but these will be ceremonial in nature and absolutely formal. Under the massive media spotlight, the Marathi Manoos will also say that he/she is proud to have a Marathi person in the highest post in the land, but it is not likely to touch an ethnic or linguistic chord. Not because the Marathi people disrespect her, but simply because she does not represent a comprehensive Marathi ethos — if indeed there is such a thing.