Uttar Pradeshi and Bihari migrants in Maharashtra were attacked on 3 February 2008, due to violent clashes between workers of two political parties — the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) took place at Dadar in Mumbai.

These clashes took place when the workers of the MNS (a splinter faction formed out of the Shiv Sena), tried to attack workers of the SP (the regional party based in Uttar Pradesh), who were proceeding to attend a rally organised by the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA).

Defending his party's stand, MNS chief Raj Thackeray explained that the attack was a reaction to the: "provocative and unnecessary show of strength" and "uncontrolled political and cultural dadagiri (bullying) of Uttar Pradeshi and Bihari migrants and their leaders".

In the events leading to these clashes, Raj Thackeray made critical remarks, themed around language politics and regionalism, about migrants from the North Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, accusing them of spoiling Maharashtrian culture and not mingling with them.

At political rallies held across the state, Thackeray questioned the loyalty of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan towards Maharashtra, accusing him of showing "more interest" in Uttar Pradesh. He called the celebration of Chhath Puja by North Indian migrants a "drama" and a "show of arrogance".

On 13 February 2008, the state government, which was accused of showing reluctance to take immediate action, arrested Raj Thackeray and local SP leader Abu Asim Azmi on charges of instigation of violence and causing communal disturbance. Although released that same day, a gag order was imposed on both leaders to prevent them from making further inflammatory remarks.

Meanwhile, tensions in Maharashtra rose at the news of Raj's possible arrest, and his subsequent actual arrest, angered his supporters. Incidents of violence against North Indians and their property by MNS workers were reported in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Beed, Nashik, Amravati, Jalna, and Latur.

Nearly 25,000 North Indian workers fled Pune, and another 15,000 fled Nashik in the wake of the attacks. The exodus of workers caused an acute labour shortage, affecting local industries.

Analysts estimated financial losses of – . Although the violence receded after the arrests of the two leaders, sporadic attacks were reported until May 2008. After months of lull, on 19 October 2008, MNS activists beat up North Indian candidates appearing for the all-India Railway Recruitment Board entrance exam in Mumbai. The incident led to Raj's arrest and fresh violence. Later on 28 October 2008 a labourer from Uttar Pradesh was lynched in a Mumbai commuter train.

The attacks evoked critical reactions from various parts of the country, particularly the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar political leadership. Even Bal Thackeray, Raj's estranged uncle and chief of the Shiv Sena, who formed his party in 1966 to raise the voice of Marathi manoos (Marathi people), discounted his nephew's criticism of Bachchan as "stupidity". In an editorial a month later in Saamna, the Shiv Sena's political mouthpiece, however, Bal Thackeray wrote that Biharis aggravated local populations wherever they went and were an "unwelcome lot" throughout the country. The media slated Bal's remarks as an attempt to recapture his party's sons-of-soil plank, being hijacked by Raj.

Background

Raj Thackeray's resignation from Shiv Sena and the formation of MNS

On 9 March 2006, Raj Thackeray, nephew of Bal Thackeray, quit the Shiv Sena and formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) after being "sidelined" by the chief's son Uddhav. The Shiv Sainiks (Shiv Sena members, lit. means "Soldiers of Shivaji") who supported Raj's leadership, in contrast to his cousin Uddhav, joined the MNS. The party was founded on the ideology of being the benefactor of the local Marathi Manoos (Marathi people), an ideology that the party members felt the Shiv Sena had abandoned. Keeping in line with this, Raj has repeatedly demanded special job reservations for locals. A critic of the influx of migrants into the state, especially Uttar Bhartiyas (literally meaning "North Indians") predominantly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, he has blamed the large-scale immigration of people from these economically backward states for causing a shortage of jobs for Maharashtrians.

Shiv Sena's move to appease migrants

The Times of India summarised the cause of MNS's attacks—"There's a method in MNS's madness in attacking north Indians in Mumbai though, howsoever flawed it might be. Raj believes his cousin and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has been wooing the people from Bihar and UP—through a campaign he began back in 2005 with the inclusive call of Mee Mumbaikar—as his party's vote-bank. Uddhav's growing popularity with North Indians had been rankling Raj, who is losing ground and political relevance as evident in the MNS's performance in the last municipal elections."

Raj's criticism of Amitabh Bachchan

In January 2008, targeting Mumbai-resident Amitabh Bachchan at political rallies, Raj asserted that the actor was "more interested" in his native state Uttar Pradesh than Maharashtra. He expressed his disapproval of Amitabh's inaugurating a girls' school named after his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, rather than in Maharashtra. Bachchan was also criticised for choosing to run elections from his native state. On 2 February at a party function at Dharavi in Mumbai, Raj said, "Though he [Amitabh] has become a star in Mumbai, his interest is in Uttar Pradesh. That is why he was trying to be an ambassador of UP rather than Maharashtra. That is why though he achieved everything in Mumbai, when it came to elections, Amitabh chose Uttar Pradesh".

Responding to Raj's accusations, the actor's wife and an SP MP Jaya Bachchan said that they (Bachchans) were willing to start a school in Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the land to build it. She told the media, "I heard that Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in Maharashtra, in Mumbai at Kohinoor Mills. If he is willing to donate land, we can start a school in the name of Aishwarya here". Amitabh, however, abstained from commenting on the issue.

Bal Thackeray refuted the allegations, saying, "Amitabh Bachchan is an open-minded person, he has great love for Maharashtra, and this is evident on many occasions. The actor has often said that Maharashtra and specially Mumbai has given him great fame and affection. He has also said that what he is today is because of the love people have given him. The people of Mumbai have always acknowledged him as an artiste. It was utter foolishness to make these parochial allegations against him. Amitabh is a global superstar. People all over the world respect him. This cannot be forgotten by anyone. Amitabh should ignore these silly accusations and concentrate on his acting". According to some reports, Raj's censure of Amitabh, whom he supposedly admires, stemmed from his disappointment of not being invited to the wedding of Amitabh's son, Abhishek, despite invitations to his estranged uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.

On 23 March, Amitabh finally spoke out in an interview with a local tabloid, saying, "Random charges are random; they do not deserve the kind of attention you wish me to give". Later on 28 March at a press conference for the International Indian Film Academy, when asked what his take was on the anti-migrant issue, Amitabh said that it is one's fundamental right to live anywhere in the country and the constitution entitles so. He also stated that he was not affected by Raj's comments.

Raj's remarks on Chhath Puja and migrants

In his party speeches, Raj had also reproached North Indian migrants on the celebration of Chhath Puja, a festival popular in Bihar, calling it a "drama" and a "show of arrogance". He demanded that they must only celebrate Maharashtrian festivals. A petition was filed in the Patna civil court on 8 February against him for his remarks over Chhath Puja. His statements drew flak from leaders of Bihar, especially the Indian Railways Minister and former Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, who challenged that he would come to Mumbai and perform Chhath Puja in front of Raj's house, also ridiculed Raj saying, "He [Raj] is a child in politics". The Navnirman Sena leader accused migrants of swamping Maharashtra, India's most industrialised state, in search of jobs.

The MNS chief had also accused migrants of disrespecting the local culture. On 9 February, expressing his stance on newer migrants settling in Mumbai, Raj said, "New immigrants to the city should be denied entry into the city, while those already staying here should show respect to the Marathi 'manoos' and his culture".

Clashes between MNS and SP workers On 3 February 2008, MNS and SP workers indulged in street fighting after the former tried to attack the latter, who were proceeding to Shivaji Park, Dadar, in Mumbai to attend a rally organised by the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), the ruling coalition party of India, of which the SP is a member. The rally was to be addressed by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and other prominent members of the UNPA and SP. Police arrested 73 MNS and 19 SP workers after these clashes on charges of rioting.

Raj justified his party's stand as a response to—"provocative and unnecessary show of strength" and "uncontrolled political and cultural dadagiri of the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar migrants and their leaders"—and questioned, "Do political movements need to obey the law?" On 10 February at a press conference, he issued a statement saying, "What happened in Mumbai in the past one week was only a reaction and if leaders of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar try to demonstrate their strength here, such reactions would recur".

After the clashes, SP approached the Election Commission demanding de-registration of MNS. SP general secretary whose press conference near Azad Maidan was disrupted by MNS activists on 3 February, Amar Singh petitioned the Commission requesting action against the MNS and its leaders for issuing "veiled as well as open threats" against non-Maharashtrians. However, Mumbai police dismissed a complaint of "criminal intimidation" filed against Raj by Singh as 'false and malicious'. In his complaint filed at Azad Maidan police station, Singh had alleged that sloganeering MNS men had threatened him by using Thackeray's name while being whisked away by security personnel from the venue.

Attacks

February

On 3 February, immediately after clashes with SP, MNS workers assaulted North Indian taxi drivers and vandalised their vehicles in Dadar, Mumbai. The police faced strong criticism for remaining mute spectators as MNS workers assaulted North Indians. A departmental inquiry was instituted against the police inaction. Inspector Motiram Kadam and sub-inspector Deepak Pawar, who were assigned duty at Dadar, were suspended for dereliction of duty. Later, over 25 MNS workers were arrested on charges of rioting. In the night, 150 suspected MNS activists ransacked Pratap talkies in Thane, pulled out the print of the Bhojpuri film "Saiyan se Solah Singaar" and burned it because Bhojpuri is the regional language spoken in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The rioters also damaged the theatre and destroyed the seats. A similar incident was reported in Nashik.