Thackerays Are Migrants Too!

Thank heavens for good, honest scholarship.

A renowned Marathi scholar and professor, Hari Narke, has affirmed that Bal Thackeray’s father (who studied in Madhya Pradesh) came to Bombay as a migrant looking for a job.

Here is the relevant extract from the news report:

Hari Narke, Mahatma Phule chair professor in the University of Pune and a renowned scholar on Ambedkar, has written a strongly-worded article in the NCP mouthpiece, Rashtravadi. Narke has flayed Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray, who is Bal Thackeray's nephew, over attacks on migrants in Mumbai. "Raj should read the autobiography of his grandfather Prabodhankar Thackeray (Bal Thackeray's father). Prabodhankar, who studied in Madhya Pradesh, has written how he travelled in other states for livelihood", Narke says. "This proves that the Thackerays, who are not original inhabitants of Mumbai, came to this city in search of livelihood."

Indeed, every Indian city is chock-a-block full of migrants.

I recall an experience I had while serving on the editorial team of The Economic Times, in New Delhi.

One morning, during the edit meeting, I asked each member of the board to reveal their origins.

It so transpired that each and every member of the edit team turned out to be a migrant, including myself.

We were laughing over this discovery when a bearer entered with our morning cuppa tea.

I asked him where he had come from, and he proudly said, “Nepal.”

Just goes to show that migrants and migration need to be better understood.

And I hope that the Thackerays will now cease targeting migrants, recalling that their noble ancestors were migrants to Bombay (not Mumbai!) themselves.

We must all thank Professor Hari Narke for this vital contribution to this important debate.