Discussion on who Mumbai belongs to, is one of the hottest topics in Indian media today. Political parties have taken respective positions and are quite keen to prove that their position is the right one. All this for "the people" who they claim to represent.
I would not like to go into the correctness of various arguments. Nor will I seek to support a particular view point. For me, this is a very simple topic and the less we make it complicated the better it is. On August 15, 1947 when India won Independence and on January 26, 1950 when India became a Republic, we also decided that India is "one" country. While there may be geographical divisions for operational reasons, we are one and in that sense we sink and swim together. I am as proud of Mumbai as I am of Thiruvananthapuram, where I come from, as I am of Delhi which is "our" Capital.
If we were to think in this manner, the issue of Mumbai is a non-issue. Having said that there are regional issues of development and progress, which needs to be tackled in a more objective manner. What happened to dream of making Mumbai another Shanghai?
Personally for me, Thiruvananthapuram is a remarkable example of what India ought to be. I have grown up seeing my father work in the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, where people from different parts of India used to live a dream together. And after 25 odd years, many of them have still preferred to live on there, not because of the wealth they have created there (which is anyway not much) , but for the love of the place. And this is not possible if we did not believe in the concept of India.
I love Mumbai for all the simple things in life. And I hope I never run into someone, who will question me for loving Mumbai just because I was not born there or speak a different language. It will indeed be a sad argument to get into with a fellow Indian!
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