Is this going to be now a regular affair and will all old names be banished? Intriguingly, many old colonial names are still in use and no one has a clue of what the new ones are, even if they were changed years ago — Peddar Road, Warden Road and Napean Sea Road are still called that by every Mumbai resident; tell a cabbie the new name and he will look blank. The official name of Marine Drive is Netaji Subhas Road — how many of us call it that?
As the all-important civic elections in Mumbai come closer, politicians of all hues have discovered patriotism and nationalism. Name changes, flag waving – literally – and giant statues are all in the mix because our politicians think that this is what the citizens need, not better infrastructure or jobs.
The conventional pre-election tactic used to be freebies to everyone from farmers to slum dwellers to women and students. In UP, the Samajwadi Party gave free laptops, in Punjab, free electricity to farmers and in Tamil Nadu, the Dravida parties distributed television sets and much more. Whatever the merits of such largesse, which often impacted the state budget negatively, at least the people got something tangible out of it.
Since any mass distribution of goodies is unaffordable, given the state’s and the city’s finances, the best alternative is to do something that is easy and free – invoke patriotism. Never mind if the public at large remains unmoved and underwhelmed by it all.
What does one make of the addition of the word Maharaj to the names of the train terminus and the airport which are named after Chattrapati Shivaji? The blatant cynicism of the move is apparent – no one had asked for it and the BJP thinks by adding Maharaj, it will steal the thunder from the Shiv Sena. The Sena is obviously in no position to object, since it concerns Shivaji, but frankly, what will this gesture achieve, apart from a name change, just when people were getting used to saying CST?
The opposition has alleged that this move was to please the Marathas, who have been marching on the streets of different cities demanding reservations in government jobs. Whatever the merits of their demand, would they be appeased by this name change?
As if this was not enough, the government declared it would change the name of Elphinstone Road railway station on the western railway to Prabhadevi. This achieves the twin objective of doing away with ‘colonial vestiges’ and using a local deity’s name. Lord Elphinstone was responsible for many improvement projects, including the creation of Vihar Lake which still serves this city. Is this going to be now a regular affair and will all old names be banished? Intriguingly, many old colonial names are still in use and no one has a clue of what the new ones are, even if they were changed years ago — Peddar Road, Warden Road and Napean Sea Road are still called that by every Mumbai resident; tell a cabbie the new name and he will look blank. The official name of Marine Drive is Netaji Subhas Road — how many of us call it that?
There is already speculation that the names of six more stations will be changed, including Charni Road and Marine Lines, which have no connection with any colonial official at all! But who is to tell the neta that?
Naturally the Shiv Sena is feeling restless because the BJP has stolen a march, so senior party leader Subhash Desai now wants a 150-foot-high flagpole at Gateway of India. Who will fund it? Why, public funds, of course. The heritage committee has reservations, since strong gusts of wind and rain could make the pole unsteady, but since when did that matter to those who raise such proposals? One can safely predict that a way will be found to push through this project, using some loophole or making some exception in the regulations.
And of course the biggest gesture of them all is the Shivaji statue in the sea. This was proposed by the Congress-NCP government and has gladly been taken forward by the current regime. The cost meanwhile has been escalating and is now almost Rs 3600 crores — just two years ago it was pegged at Rs 2000 crore. And it is almost certain that by the time it is completed, it will go up further, given the complications of building in the middle of the sea. But who thinks about that? At the moment all that matters are headlines and with Narendra Modi doing the bhoomi pujan, headlines are guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the fishermen of the city, the original residents whom no one gives much attention to, are going to protest against this proposal because they think it will affect the breeding grounds of the fish and thus eventually their catch. In the past, they had protested against the sea link and the design was changed to accommodate their concerns. Environmentalists are aghast at the possible damage to marine life too. Will the government take notice of their problems this time round?
It all shows what the priorities of the government are. At a time when citizens are suffering not just because of the impact of the recent demonetisation but also because of structural and other problems, such as Mumbai’s rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, the government is spending time, attention and money on name changes and the like. There is a time and place for patriotism and honouring leaders, but at what cost? Whether this will help the BJP win some extra seats remains to be seen, but surely the citizens can see through the purpose of these cosmetic gestures. If they can’t, well then perhaps this is really what they want.
The author is a Founding Editor of The Wire. He is a journalist and writer based in Mumbai.
