Tensions on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra are back again, this time by Kannada and Marathi groups targeting vehicles and shops belonging to other language groups.
Attempts have been made by Marathi and Kannada groups on boarding and stone pelting of vehicles at Belagavi and Kolhapur.
This problem is compounded by the Shiv Sena openly supporting Marathi groups in Belagavi, while the Kannada groups in Belagavi in Karnataka, such as the Vedike of Karnataka leading the defense protests, do not support any political party.
State transport undertakings in Karnataka and Maharashtra on Sunday shut down bus services between the states, as they were apprehensive of damage to vehicles as violence erupted.
Some time ago, there were clashes between the two groups as the Kannada flag was hoisted in the premises of Belagavi civic body office.
Kannada organizations are now accused of trying to use the border dispute for political purposes to strengthen the party in Belagavi and Karnataka.
The Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra recently released a book on the border dispute and re-released a 50-year-old video documentary on the subject. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray gave statements regarding the old border dispute.
Shiv Sena’s dominance
Kannada activists are skeptical of this trunk of Maharashtra politics where the party is trying to reinforce the party and its linguistic identity at the cost of other Marathi parties like the Maharashtra Ekkaran Samiti in Belagavi.
Convenor of Kannada organizations in the district, Ashok Chandragi argued that Mr. Thackeray was sending signals that the Shiv Sena wants to come directly into Belagavi’s politics. “All these years, he was working through organizations like MES. But now they want to get straight into the fray, ”he argued. Not too long ago, Mr. Thackeray had defrauded MES leaders for defaming him and held him responsible for damaging Marathi interests in Belagavi. “Mr. C. Mr. Chandragi said that Thackeray wants to strengthen his party here, directly on the boundary issue.
Another activist, Mehboob Makarander, admitted that the Shiv Sena was carrying out its activities just before the Belagavi Municipal Corporation elections. However, the focus is not the welfare of Marathi people, he said. “I have been a part of the Kannada movement since the 1980s. But I have never seen any leader of Maharashtra raising issues like education, health or employment or the problems of farmers across the border. They only talk of transferring some land to Maharashtra.
Maharashtra’s leadership was calm about welfare measures such as the establishment of a large number of government Marathi medium schools and Maratha Development Corporation in Karnataka, he said.
.
Leave a Reply