Mumbai: RSS leader's remark sparks row over Marathi's 'relevance'
RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments came when the Maharashtra government has made Marathi compulsory in primary and secondary schools affiliated with ICSE and CBSE boards
An RSS leader’s claim that it is not necessary to know Marathi to live in Mumbai on Thursday triggered strong reactions, with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as well as Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress leaders insisting on Marathi’s primacy.
“Mumbai doesn't have a single language. Each part of Mumbai has a different language,” senior RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi said in Mumbai. “The Ghatkopar area's language is Gujarati,” he said, referring to a part of the metropolis. “So, if you are residing in Mumbai, it is not necessary that you have to learn Marathi.”
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Fadnavis bats for Marathi
However, Fadnavis made it clear in the Maharashtra Assembly that he did not agree with Joshi’s argument.
“I haven’t heard what Bhaiyyaji said, but the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra is Marathi. Everyone should learn Marathi and should speak the language,” he said. The chief minister said his government respects other languages as well. "If you love and respect your own language, you do the same to other languages. I am sure Bhaiyyaji will agree with me," Fadnavis said.
Joshi’s remarks come at a time when the Maharashtra government has made Marathi compulsory in primary and secondary schools affiliated with ICSE and CBSE boards to promote the language.
Shiv Sena slams Joshi
The pushback to Joshi’s comments was swift. “BJP's policymaker and RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi said Marathi isn't the language of the capital (Mumbai). Who gave him this right,” outspoken Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut asked journalists.
The Rajya Sabha MP dared CM Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar to condemn Joshi's statement and pass a resolution in the state legislature over the matter. “Marathi is our state language, and such a statement (by Joshi) amounts to treason. The statement is a treason,” he added. “Can you go to Kolkata and say that Bengali isn't their language? Can you go to Lucknow and say … that Hindi isn't their language? Can you go to Chennai and say their language isn't Tamil,” he wondered.
Former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray also came out strongly against Joshi's remarks. He said Marathi “is our language and our pride… The language of Mumbai is Marathi.”
Congress denounces RSS
Congress leader Nana Patole accused the RSS and the BJP of diverting attention from issues like farmers’ plight and unemployment by igniting debates on languages.
“Today, farmers' crops are drying up in Maharashtra. Can't the RSS give suggestions to the government on this? Is the RSS not concerned about unemployment in Maharashtra,” Patole asked. “The RSS and BJP are diverting attention from the main issues by creating such debates," he alleged.
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Tamil-Hindi row
Joshi’s remark on Mumbai’s language and the counter from the Shiv Sena (UBT) comes at a time when Tamil Nadu has vociferously resisted what it says are attempts by the Centre to impose Hindi and Sanskrit at the cost of Tamil language.
Political parties like Shiv Sena (Shinde), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are strong advocates of Marathi language and culture.
Mumbai and Marathi
A large percentage of population of Mumbai now do not claim Marathi to be their mother tongue although many of them do speak or understand Marathi.
There have also been isolated attacks in recent months in Maharashtra on those who do not speak Marathi. According to the 2001 census, India is home to some 71.9 million Marathi language speakers.
