Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray has vehemently criticized the Central Government’s unprecedented decision to shift the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony from the national capital, New Delhi, to Kevadia in Gujarat. In a strongly worded statement, Thackeray alleged that this relocation is part of a deliberate and continuous effort by the current leadership to diminish the historic significance of major regions, drawing parallels to an ongoing campaign aimed at undermining Mumbai’s status as the country’s financial capital. He questioned the political motives behind choosing Gujarat over states with deeply rooted cinematic histories and massive production outputs, asking why the ceremony was not hosted in Maharashtra—the birthplace of Indian cinema pioneered by Dadasaheb Phalke—or in southern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, where film has traditionally shaped both culture and politics.
Thackeray accused Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of artificially inflating the prominence of their home state at the expense of national diversity, citing a pattern that includes hosting the 2023 Cricket World Cup final, directing visiting heads of state, and shifting the GIFT City project from Mumbai to Gujarat. Warning that past Prime Ministers never sought to centralize national prestige solely within their spheres of work, he characterized the current strategy as a superficial attempt to fabricate grandeur by altering long-standing traditions.
Expressing deep concern over the silence of local leadership, Thackeray issued an urgent call to action for artists and citizens across Maharashtra and the southern states to firmly oppose this trend, warning that a failure to take a stand today will allow the Central government to completely crush the distinct cultural identity and ethos of the Deccan region.
News Edit KV Raman
