PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 963
local people could not object. Under those circumstances various people from various Provinces have gone to cities located in other Provinces. They built up their interests and have lived there for generations. But in the redistribution that we are now making, I have not seen anybody—Non-Madrasi living in Madras—raising objection to Madras being given to the Tamilian. Calcutta is equally a cosmopolitan city. When I was the Labour Member, I had often to visit Calcutta in order to see the labour conditions there and I found that the Bengal people did not call the people living in Calcutta as ‘Bengali’. Their word was “ Calcuttiya” These are “Calcuttiyas” That shows that they were not part of Bengali population, and it is a huge population. Notwithstanding this, our friends, the Congress Party people, have never raised any objection; nor the Calcuttiyas” have ever raised any objection to Calcutta being handed over to the Bengali. My first question to my Friend, Mr. Pant, is this. If Calcutta can go to Bengali and Madras can go to Tamilian, what objection is there for Bombay to go to Maharashtra ? That, I think, is a fundamental question which he must satisfy the Maharashtrians about. Yes, it is said that there is in Bombay a Gujarati population which amounts to not more than 15 per cent, and that the Maharashtrians do not form a majority of the population. It is said that that is the reason which vitiates the claim of the Maharashtrians over Bombay. I wonder whether there are any cities in this country where the foreign population in the city is not 15 per cent, and the position of Bombay, it is said, by reason of the fact that 15 per cent, are Gujaratis is in a sense peculiar. How is it peculiar ? One can give any number of illustrations to show that our cities are always a mixed quarter. No city can claim to have a uniform population of its own. And if notwithstanding this fact the other city can claim to belong to West Bengal, I am quite unable to understand why Bombay City should not make a similar claim. There are some people who have said that Bombay never belonged to Maharashtra. Well, I am surprised at the knowledge of those who made the statement, I am very much surprised. Who were the first inhabitants of Bombay ? They were the kolis —the fishermen—and do the