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Bedlam At The Border A new resolution to merge the Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka's Belgaum district with neighbouring Maharashtra provokes protests and stokes ethnic tensions in the region
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The north-west Karnataka district of Belgaum sits exactly halfway
between Mumbai and Bangalore, 500 km away from each metro. It is also
home to the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), a pro-Marathi body
which has been fighting for the merger of Marathi speaking villages
in the district with Maharashtra since it was founded in 1956. Last
month, the Belgaum City Corporation, controlled by the MES, passed a
resolution seeking the merger, provoking strong reactions from the
fast growing Kannada mo...
