65 Years Of Betrayal: VRAS Activists To Mark Maharashtra Day As Black Day

Time of India

30-04-2025

Nagpur: Sixty-five years after Maharashtra was carved out on May 1, 1960, the scars still bleed in Vidarbha, say statehood protesters. "What was sold as unity has felt like annexation. What was promised as balanced development became decades of decay. On Wednesday, Vidarbha won't celebrate. It will mourn. It will resist. It will declare: Jai Vidarbha — not in hope, but in demand," they cry.
The
Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti
(VRAS) has called for a region-wide Black Day, including hoisting the Vidarbha flag at Samvidhan Chowk at Nagpur. Protesters will wear black clothes, black ribbons, carry black flags, and stand in sharp defiance of the state they say has exploited them for over six decades.
"They built Mumbai with our electricity and left our farmers to hang from trees," said a staunch statehood supporter. Vidarbha, once part of Central Provinces and Berar, was promised autonomy, justice, and parity when it was merged into Maharashtra. Instead, it got betrayal in return. At least 131 irrigation projects lie unfinished. Suicide became a generational reality for farmers. Malnutrition, unemployment, and poor infrastructure define the region's daily life, he added.
Mukesh Masurkar, VRAS youth wing president, said, "Maharashtra's financial condition adds salt to the wound. The state is crushed under Rs7.82 lakh crore of debt, with a budget deficit of Rs45,892 crore. Projects like Gosikhurd, meant to bring water and life to Vidarbha, are now symbols of what was never intended to be completed."
The movement has grown far beyond a protest. VRAS has announced a 'Scarlet Foot March' beginning May 13 from Vidarbha Chandika Shaheed Chowk in Nagpur, culminating in Amravati on May 25 with the Western Vidarbha Nirdhar Melava at Engineer Bhavan. Every step will carry decades of anger.
"This is no longer a polite plea," said Arun Kedar, East Vidarbha Division president of VRAS. "This is a revolt against institutionalised looting — of our resources, our people, and our dignity."
He added, "Western Maharashtra grabbed the lion's share of irrigation, industry, jobs, and political power. Vidarbha got empty assurances and a growing 'backlog' that has now become a cruel inside joke. Instead of narrowing, that backlog has ballooned — crushing development dreams with it."
As Maharashtra marks its foundation day with pomp, thousands in Vidarbha will march in silence, wearing black, holding placards and banners for independent statehood demanded. The streets of Nagpur, Chandrapur, Wardha, and beyond will stand in protest, not celebration.
"May 1 is not a holiday here. It's a betrayal — of trust, of equality, of the idea that Vidarbha ever truly belonged to Maharashtra. We were promised justice in 1960. Sixty-five years later, we're still buried in lies. Jai Vidarbha isn't a wish anymore — it's a must," Masurkar added.