People respect power. The government’s authority is derived from the exercise of legitimate power. When the government fails to exercise its responsibility to uphold law, it erodes its authority and invites popular unrest and license. This is what is happening in Mumbai. This is what has been happening in Mumbai for over half a century. It is time to confront the phoney chauvinism unleashed by the Thackeray cousins with a fitting political response. The history of Mumbai needs to be recalled.
In 1661 Charles II of England received Bombay as part of his dowry after marrying Catherine of Braganza. The British East India Company received it from the Crown in 1668. It shortly founded the modern city of Bombay. As a port, Bombay flourished in commerce . Skilled workers and traders moved to Bombay owned by the British. The business in Bombay was built up mainly by the Gujarati and Parsi communities, and partially by Bohras, Jews and Marwaris.
After Independence Nehru, Patel and even the RSS under Golwarkar were against the formation of linguistic states. Even though the linguistic states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerela, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were conceded, the state of Bombay comprising Maharashtra and Gujarat was retained with Mumbai as the state capital. Morarji Desai was the Chief Minister of united Bombay state.