Terming the Mahajan report as biased and illogical, Maharashtra rejected it and demanded another review of the situation. Though Karnataka has ever since continued to press for implementation of the Commission’s report, it was never formally implemented by the Centre.

Why it has resurfaced

In December 2005, the Congress-led government at the Centre decided to revive discussions on the border row, even as the states stuck to their guns. On March 15, 2006, the Maharashtra Government filed a petition in the Supreme Court stating that there was a “feeling of insecurity among Marathi-speaking people living in Karnataka in recent days”. The Centre filed an affidavit in August the same year stating that Maharashtra’s claim was not maintainable in law, but withdrew it soon. Karnataka grew sceptical.

The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti

The MES was formed in 1948 and has been spearheading the agitation for about six decades to incorporate Belgaum and 865 adjoining villages in Maharashtra. According to the MES, 43 per cent of the district population is Marathi. Wielding a significant presence in the region, the MES emerged as the majority party in the Belgaum City Council (BCC) in the 1980s and remained so until the dissolution of the council by the Karnataka Government in 2005. The MES cried foul, calling it discrimination against Marathi people, but the Government did not change its stand. The MES has been observing November 1, the Rajyotsava Day (Foundation Day) of Karnataka, as ‘Black Day’ and January 17 as “Martyrs’ Day” every year to commemorate the killing of five people from Belgaum in police firing while they were protesting against the decision to include the city in Karnataka.

... contd.