Can locals of a city be unfit for the city?

Over the last week or so, I have been to Pune where I grew up and to Mumbai where I spent the last eight years working. I am currently based in Bangalore and there is something that all these cities have in common: migration. But Mumbai, one would have to argue, is less affected in terms of its fabric or the way the city is since it has seen migration for a very long time. Who is the local in Mumbai, one would have to first ask. The Shiv Sena would argue that it is the Marathi Manoos while others may have their own points. It’s entirely debatable.

That, however, is not the case with Bangalore and Pune. Both cities have a strong cultural heritage with local people being identifiable thanks to language, customs and a variety of other reasons. But is there a case when one has to say that the local citizens of a city are no longer fit for the city? And I ponder over this question with the utmost objectivity, difficult as that may be.

Does there come a time when the locals simply have to let go (a little bit at least) of their city’s cultural fabric and be a little more accommodating for the sake of the progress and improvement of the city? Is there also a case that ‘outsiders’ coming to the city bring in more positives than negatives? Is there also a possibility that the locals should sit back beyond a point and let more seasoned ‘settlers’ improve their city?

I don’t know the answers to any of the above questions, but I am inclined to argue "yes". Was it possible that without migration either Pune or Bangalore or for that matter, Mumbai, would have become the important cities that they are? Take a look at say, Cochin or Lucknow where migration is much lesser compared to these cities and perhaps my point may sound valid. Of course, I ignore ground realities such as governments, but then isn’t the government a reflection of the local thinking? Where one city chooses a government that may bring in investment and with it, the inevitable migration, another is keen to hang on to what is already there and hold on tight.

Is this even a point?

Tags: Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai, migration, locals, citizens