PIL seeking ban on phrase ‘Alibaug se aaya hai kya?’

Recently, a resident of Alibaug moved the Bombay High Court to ban the condescending phrase "Alibaug se aaya hai kya?".

Rajendra Thakur, a resident of Satirje village of Mapgaon, Alibaug, filed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL). His father, Madhukar Thakur, used to be a member of the Congress party.

A Livelaw report states that Thakur further mentioned in his plea that it is "unfair" and "humiliating" to use the phrase as it deems residents of Alibaug to be "illiterates". To back his claims, he pointed out how the coastal town has a high literacy rate and has several good schools; besides being a major tourist attraction, many Bollywood celebrities also have their holiday homes in Alibaug.

"Alibaug is bestowed with nature, with scenic beauty. Despite having such a rich background filled with history, culture, industry, tourism, medical facilities, nature, and education, it is highly objectionable to ridicule the people of Alibaug by projecting them as 'illiterates' who do not have common sense… Every time the petitioner hears this dialogue, he gets hurt sentimentally. This phrase always makes an adverse emotional impact on the petitioner and every person of Alibaug," the plea read.

The town is hardly 100 km away from Mumbai and tourists looking for short getaways flock the place over the weekends. It is located in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

The plea, which was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice NM Jamdar, also highlighted Alibaug’s rich culture and history. It may be taken up for hearing in two weeks’ time.

Thakur wants the HC to ensure that people refrain from using the phrase, and films, documentaries, and TV soaps also do not use it.

So, what’s the origin of the term?

Much like the American phrase “which part of Long Island do you come from”, “Alibaug se aaya hai kya” is commonly used on people who are slow or dumb.

Given that the small coastal town is not too far away from the glistening city of dreams, that only heaves a sigh now and then, when the maddening crowd falls asleep, life in Alibaug  is perceived to be dull and lifeless.

The simplicity of the town and the residents are a striking contrast to the momentum the financial capital has normalised, making its residents believe that anything that disturbs its pace is slow and naïve.

Therefore, when a Mumbaikar comes across a person who is sauntering ahead of him or her, pat comes the response: “Alibaug se aya hai kya”. Or, even when a person has a head full of questions that he or she bombards a co-passenger with, and worse even, falls prey to conniving strangers who are out to trick you dry of moolah, this is again the phrase that is used.