Uddhav heats up Belgaum border issue on 'martyrs' day'

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s remark that his government is committed towards incorporating into the state areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are in majority, has again heated up the Belgaum border dispute between the two neighbours.

On linguistic grounds, Maharashtra claims Belgaum and some other areas, which were part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency but currently in Karnataka.

Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, a regional organisation fighting for the merger of Belgaum and some other border areas with Maharashtra, observes January 17 as the ‘martyrs’ day’ for those who laid down their lives for the cause in 1956.

With greetings on the ‘martyr’s day’, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a tweeted brining such areas under Maharashtra will be a “true tribute” to the martyrs of the cause.

“Bringing Karnataka-occupied Marathi-speaking and cultural areas in Maharashtra will be the true tribute to those who accepted martyrdom in the boundary battle. We are united and committed towards it. Respects to the martyrs with this promise,” the CMO tweeted.

Thackeray last year appointed Maharashtra ministers Eknath Shinde and Chhagan Bhujbal as co-coordinators to oversee the state government’s efforts to expedite the case related to the boundary dispute.

What’s this border dispute about?

Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending that the majority of population in these areas is Marathi-speaking. The dispute between the two states over Belgaum and other border areas is pending before the Supreme Court for many years.

The dispute can be traced back to the implementation of States Reorganisation Act, 1956, in 1957 when Maharashtra started demanding that its border with Karnataka is readjusted.

The disputed areas were part of the Bombay Presidency before India’s Independence. After Independence in 1947, the Maharashtra state was formed in 1956 and while reorganising states, the Belgaum district was included in the newly formed Mysore state or Karnataka.

Though Belgaum has historically been part of Kannada region, expansion of the Maratha empire under the Peshwas brought under its control vast swathes of the Karnataka region, which were called ‘Southern Maratha Country’.