Sons of the soil got raw deal, says Shobhaa De
New Delhi: MNS chief Raj Thackeray has found another ally for his Marathi cause with novelist Shobhaa De backing his campaign saying the Sons Of The Soil get a ‘raw deal’ in the state when jobs and other opportunities are concerned.
“I can understand what he is trying to tap into. I can understand the reason why he has succeeded to this extent. He may have tapped into something very real,” De said in a television interview.
“In fact, it is everybody else first and
Backing Raj Thackeray, the noted author said, “He has a right to speak what he wants to and the same right to challenge and oppose.” Even while asserting that Thackeray was being political, she said,”It seems that it is only in Maharshtra that Marathi people seem to be the last to get jobs”.
“I am definitely saying Maharashtrians have got a raw deal, which does not mean that I am in any way supporting violence and endorsing what Raj Thackeray stands for. A raw deal also has a lot to do with the Maharashtrian way of not asserting themselves.”
“They are too laid back and there is a lot of intellectual arrogance. Maharashtrians are not assertive enough at all,” De said. On if it should be compulsory to speak Marathi in Mumbai, De said, “In West Bengal, people speak Bengali, in Karnataka they speak Kannada, in Tamil Nadu, they speak Tamil. Well the disconnect is happening in Mumbai because people think of Mumbai as belonging to all of
“It is a question of identity. It is happening everywhere, but Mumbai seems to attract a lot of media attention on account of this. The question of identity is hurting deep down,” she said. When asked if she would consider herself to be a Mumbaikar or a Bombayite, De said, “I am an Indian first.” AGENCIES
‘In fact, it is everybody else first and
‘think Maharashtrians need to do a great deal of thinking to figure out why the city’s complexion has changed
Shobhaa De | NOVELIST
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