Many aspiring Mumbai cabbies ponder future
by
Neville Parker |
Bumbling ‘language’ rule could become stumbling block for them
THE dicey ‘lingo bug’ has returned to pester India once again. This time it has to do with Mumbai’s taxi drivers who pilot those famous black and yellow cabs that give the roads of tinsel town such an old world charm. It appears that the 1989 Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules will henceforth be applied in letter and spirit of the law! This means that if one can’t speak in the local language, Marathi, one will not be entitled for a taxi badge that permits one to drive a cab in the state. Also, to obtain a taxi licence one must have lived in the state for at least 15 years.
Strange decisions, but true! Apparently the ‘language’ rule is said to be embossed in the book, although given the large number of migrant cabbies who drive on city roads, and who may not be familiar with the local lingo, it seems that this particular rule was not being strictly implemented in the past. But now, for some odd reason, the state cabinet has suddenly woken up to enforce the ‘language’ rule and this has obviously taken the pep out of the ambitions of many applicants from other parts of the country who had dreamed of zooming their way to prosperity in a black and yellow cab. It has also raised a storm of protest, not only in Mumbai but in other regions of the country as well.
Maharashtra, particularly its capital Mumbai, is home to thousands of taxi drivers who are migrants mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar. While the present lot of cabbies, who already possess badges to drive, will not be affected the dreams of many a newcomer to this profession is likely to go up in smoke.
Mumbai is termed a city of gold; and for the past many years job-seekers from all over the country have flocked to the teeming metropolis to try and change their fortunes for the better. Many of them have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The success of these migrants has also contributed to the economic prosperity of the state and given it the status of a ‘mini India’.
For provincial lawmakers to enforce a ruling which could effectively blank out chances of someone who may not be familiar with the local language nor has lived in the region for the stipulated period, is neither fair nor very wise. Imagine if other states in the country followed this example the end result could damage the social fabric of the country.
Knowing the local language and being familiar with the local customs are no doubt an advantage, but to make it mandatory for qualifying as a taxi driver is hardly sensible for, as has been noticed in Mumbai and elsewhere, commuters who may not be familiar with the local language do get through by speaking to cab drivers in Hindi or English.
The provincial government, finding itself being sucked into a controversy, is now attempting to backtrack on its earlier decision, saying that local language also implies Hindi and Gujarati.
If that is so, then tough luck for applicants who speak only Punjabi, Bengali, Malayalam and a host of other languages and who are not familiar with the ‘local’ lingo!
Oman Tribune |
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