Is it a crime to refer to one of India’s finest cities as Bombay instead of Mumbai? Certainly not. But it is certainly a crime to threaten people with violence if they refer to the city as Bombay. I was born, brought up and educated in Bombay and apart from English the other national language, which I speak is Marathi. I have a hill station home in Mahabaleshwar, have visited Pratapgarh more than once because Shivaji is my hero. If one calls the city Bombay, my pride as a Maharashtrian is not hurt because my pride in the city stems from its preeminence and cosmopolitan character and not from use of the name, Bombay or Mumbai. Significantly there has been no threat of violence against persons who continue to mention Bangalore or Calcutta. Karan Johar’s yielding to Raj Thackeray’s threats has disturbing implications. It gives undeserved recognition and prominence to an extra-constitutional authority. It is an abject surrender to bigotry and blackmail, and is a lamentable instance of commercial expediency. A film producer is most interested in the success of his movie rather than upholding freedom of expression and the rule of law. To be fair to Johar, one compelling reason for his behaviour could be lack of confidence in law enforcement authorities to give him necessary protection against violence by goondas masquerading as Maharashtrian patriotic. That is the real tragedy. It is also a sorry reflection on the rule of law in some parts of our country. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra’s grievance that Johar should have approached him is specious. It is extremely unlikely that in view of the oncoming elections, the Chief Minister would have posted adequate police force at the theatre and given him effective security.

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