Old border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka on the boil again

The old border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka is on the boil again. Maharashtra is seeking the integration of 865 predominantly Marathi-speaking villages in the border districts of Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar and Gulbarga, and the six towns of Belgaum, Nippani, Khanapur, Karwar, Halyal and Bhalki. On the other hand, the Karnataka government has opened a fresh flank by seeking 42 villages in the Jath taluka in Maharashtra’s Sangli and Kannada-speaking areas of Solapur 

and Akkalkot in Solapur district be part of Karnataka.

Belgaum, around which the dispute is centred, was part of the multi-lingual Bombay Presidency (later renamed the Bombay Province). It was included in the Mysore state (later-day Karnataka) after the report of the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) in 1956, leading to protests from the sizeable Marathi-speakers in the area. However, these areas were not included in Maharashtra when it was formed on May 1, 1960, despite a demand by the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti (SMS), which was a rainbow, anti-Congress coalition that spearheaded the statehood movement.

The border dispute, which has seen violent flashpoints over the decades, flared up again after Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on November 22 reiterated his state’s claim over the villages in Jath. “The gram panchayats in the Jath taluka have passed a resolution for inclusion in Karnataka. We are seriously considering this.”
 

A total of 42 gram panchayats with a population of around 125,000 in Jath had approved resolutions in 2011-12, seeking their inclusion in Karnataka. Bommai’s comments have led to fresh protests in these areas reiterating this demand.

Vikram Sawant, Congress MLA, Jath, said the demand from the eastern part of the taluka bordering Karnataka was a result of the institutional neglect by the Maharashtra government, especially when it came to water supply.

“They have been seeking water for the past 40-45 years and have even organised protests like a padayatra to Mumbai … however, despite this, the demand has not been fulfilled.”
 

The Maharashtra government has promised to clear a Rs 2,000-crore extension of the Mhaisal lift irrigation scheme, but the residents of these affected areas were sceptical, considering the history of broken promises 

so far, said Sawant.

However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said the state government has given an impetus to irrigation projects in Jath.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that not even one village leaves Maharashtra,” he added.

The Maharashtra government has based its demand on four criteria for inclusion in a state, namely, a village as a unit, geographical continuity, linguistic majority, and the will of the people. The government has set up a 19-member all party committee and appointed ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai to oversee the legal matters in the Supreme Court, where the government has filed a petition.

In the latest flare-up of the border dispute, vehicles from Maharashtra were vandalised in Karnataka and vice-versa in a display of competitive chauvinism.

As expected, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has upped its ante to corner the Eknath Shinde regime and has organised a foot-march in Mumbai on December 17 with this issue as one of its focal points. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power in Karnataka and a partner in the Maharashtra government.

“So far, Maharashtra has taken a patient position on the issue and is willing to continue this in the future. But, there are limits to this patience,” said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, while calling for an immediate end to attacks on vehicles by Kannada groups in these areas. He warned otherwise, he and other leaders would go to Belgaum in solidarity with the Marathi speakers there.

The issue is an emotive one also for the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). “We are demanding that immediate steps be taken to bring Belgaum and the border areas under central rule,” said Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.

Maloji Ashtekar, general secretary, Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), which represents the Marathi speakers in the border areas of Karnataka, said their demand for inclusion in Maharashtra was being ignored despite Marathi-speakers forming around 60 per cent of the population in Belgaum, and even 80 per cent in some villages in Khanapur.

Despite this acrimony, the two states have deep historic and cultural linkages. The temple of Lord Vithoba at Pandharpur in Solapur is revered in Karnataka. Maharashtrian cultural icons like singer Pandit Bhimsen Joshi also belong to Karnataka.