A Rose by Any Other Name.....

.....might smell as sweet, but does the same apply to Bombay/Mumbai??

The city is clearly divided into two camps. One which does not recognize "Mumbai", and still insist on calling it Bombay. And the other which not only calls it Mumbai, but also insists (sometimes forceably)that others do the same. The first group is accused of being super-snobs and elitist and what not. And the second camp is considered to be maniacs/fundamentalists from the wrong side of the tracks. So what really is the deal?? Is anyone really in the right??

I am firmly ensconced in the former camp and this is what I think.

I understand the feeling which motivates group B. Their logic goes that since the British christened our lil island "Bombay", we were taking a symbolic step by changing it back to its original name.

But did they think about the massive financial losses this one decision would generate?? Did they consider the money that had to be spent re-painting signs and re-printing letter-heads. What about the shop-keepers whose billboards got blackened and whose shops got ransacked?? Aren't they being as tyrannical as the British were, in their attempts at ridding Bombay of the British influence??

Setting aside all the political and financial ramifications of the decision, I think the thing that bothers me the most is the sense of helplessness that that one move made a whole lot of people in Bombay feel. Here we were going about our business in relative peace and harmony, till someone (we elected apparently) comes along and makes decisions that we don’t support.

I thought the whole point of a democracy is the voice of the majority, but the name change was brought about without consulting the common man. I compare the absurdity of the move to say, my grandmother waking up one morning and asking me to call her Slim Shady without asking what I thought about it first !!.....:D :D

From that point in time, it became all about the brawn. Have a few goons with you….. garner a little political clout…. and you can do as you like to a point where even the police are rendered impotent.

With the change in her name, Bombay lost a piece of history as well as her cosmopolitan outlook. It elevated one citizen above the other and made way for decision-makers to make personal agendas into laws and private vendettas into a public spectacle. It’s this type of lawlessness perpetrated by the law-makers that makes me shudder. It started with just a name, and has snowballed into violent regionalism and (baseless) vitriolic charges against minorities. The future looks bleak.

So for me, calling my beloved city Bombay is more than a political move, I have no intention of angering anyone or ruffling feathers. For me it is as simple as living in a time where the majority vote counted, where the voice of the people was heard (even during non election years) and where no one cared if you came from another state (most of us did). Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan!!!