Garga Chatterjee

BJP and these dhando types are now paying infrachuttads to push the narrative that Koliwadas and fishing settlements are encroachments. The goal is pretty obvious: clear these settlements by force so that only people with a shitload of money can access and own these lands. Let's not forget that many of these settlements likely predate Portuguese and British rule, let alone the modern city of Mumbai. Now you have accounts claiming that Kolis aren't original inhabitants of Mumbai because it was a Portuguese city. This is just a convenient way of erasing everything that existed before the Portuguese arrived, including the fishing communities that have called these shores home for centuries. Never mistake these people for protectors of Indian history. They'll happily distort it, erase entire communities and manufacture new narratives if it helps their dhando friends make more money. All while cheering on shiny new developments and toys they couldn't afford themselves. And don't think it'll stop with the Kolis. First, they'll create a narrative to paint the Koli community in a bad light. Then it'll be the Agris, the Bhandaris, the Pathare-Prabhus and others. One by one, they'll delegitimise the communities that inhabited these lands long before Portuguese and British rule, until their history and presence become inconvenient footnotes in the story of a city built for the rich. This isn't about protecting Mumbai's history. It's about deciding whose history counts, who gets to stay, and who gets pushed out to make way for someone else's profits.