Really? Correct me if I’m wrong, but if the politics of prejudice has always been institutionalised in this country, and its official architect is none other than BJP. In fact, ever since the riots that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid, cosmopolitan Bombay has become Mumbai, a city of communal ghettos. Meanwhile, the Janata Dal and the BSP have worked tirelessly to partition India on caste lines. And, with a quota policy that makes the Manusmriti sound egalitarian, the Congress hasn’t done too badly either.

Which is why the list of those who want Raj booked under Section 153 -A of the Indian Penal Code for “attempting to disturb communal harmony” is interesting, to say the least : LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Ashok Singhal and Uma Bharati, all noteworthy North Indians who have been booked under the same section. (Pssst : in case you’re wondering, not one of them has been convicted). So xenophobia has always flourished in the subcontinental soil of bigotry, the neta’s tried-and-tested tool of ‘divide to rule’. So why blame only Raj?

For two reasons : apart from attracting enviable attention, he has done the unthinkable : hurt the fragile North Indian ego. Now let’s not forget that India is North India and Indians are North Indians, so discriminate, if you must, against ‘mians’ and ‘madrasis’, but leave the cow belt alone, please — its sacred. The other reason is pure economics. There was a time was when ethnic hatred was, well, ethnic hatred. Now it’s about fighting over money and jobs. More pragmatic than communal rhetoric, and definitely more relevant in a country where rapaciousness is the new religion. That’s why Raj’s USP — Maharashtra for Maharashtrians — works.

Fortunately, his rather clumsy strategy may not. Recently, when activists of his MNS party publicly bullied ‘elite’ English schools in Mumbai to admit their protégés, even diehard supporters were confused. (Did this qualify as a Jai Maharashtra promo?). And the current campaign to enforce Marathi nameplates is hardly the smartest way to woo jobs for his wards. Raj’s rationale : “ Marathi signboards respect the aspirations of the Marathi Manoos.” Surely that’s a grave miscalculation in a state where free Marathi medium schools are becoming extinct because even the poorest Marathi Manoos prefers to fork out for a private English education! Besides, surely this misunderstood manoos aspires to better things than quibbling about signboards!

If Raj really wants to empower the Marathi Manoos, he can begin by reviving Maharashtra’s callously neglected municipal schools. That way, they can ‘aspire’ to much more than competing with Bihari cabbies and UP doodhwalas at the bottom of the job market. But then, if the Marathi Manoos could aspire to better things, would he vote for Raj?

farah.baria@expressindia.com