Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 19: Even as the language conflict between Hindi and Marathi threatening to become a BJP – MNS ugly war, the ruling party leader Nishikant Dubey and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray kept engaging themselves responding to each other’s threats and insinuations inviting the other in their respective territory to “teach a lesson.”
Raj Thackeray responded to the BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s threat that the Marathi-speaking people would be thrashed if they visited the Hindi belt,
“Come to Mumbai and we will beat you up drowning in the sea,” he said.
The tussle did not end there. Dubey on Saturday responded to Thackeray’s threat with a query, “Did I teach Hindi to Raj Thackeray?” On Friday, Raj Thackeray publicly responded to Mr Dubey’s earlier comments, where the BJP leader had said, “Marathi logon ko hum yahan pe patak-patak ke maarenge (We will thrash Marathi people repeatedly)”, with a warning of his own: “You come to Mumbai. Mumbai ke samundar mein dubo-dubo ke maarenge (We will thrash you, drown you in the sea in Mumbai).”
Defending his earlier statement, Dubey said he would not retract them. “I am proud that my mother tongue is Hindi,” he said. “Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray are not some great monarchs. I’m an MP, and I do not take the law into my hands. But wherever they go, people will respond.”
He added that “if you beat up the poor, they will retaliate one day.” Referring to past MNS actions against non-Marathi speakers, Mr Dubey stated: “They protested against Gujaratis in 1956, then against South Indians, and now they are doing it against Hindi speakers. Their history is such that everyone is angry at them.”
Raj Thackeray, addressing a crowd at Mira Bhayandar on Friday had said while he had no problem with any language but objected strongly to the “imposition” of Hindi. “I will not make any compromises over Marathi and the people of Maharashtra,” he said. “Those who live in Maharashtra should learn Marathi as soon as possible. Wherever you go, speak Marathi.”
The controversy stemmed from two government resolutions issued in April, under which Hindi was to be made the third compulsory language for students in Classes 1 to 5 in Maharashtra. Following opposition, including from Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, the Maharashtra government withdrew the resolutions.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis later announced that a committee would be formed to review the policy. “The three-language formula will be implemented,” he said. “But whether Hindi should be taught from Class 1 or Class 5 is to be decided by a committee.”
At a rally last week, Raj Thackeray warned Mr Fadnavis that any move to reintroduce the policy would lead to a complete shutdown of schools. “When they tried it once, we had shut down shops, and now we will not hesitate to shut down schools if Hindi is imposed (from Class 1 to 5),” he said.
The MNS leader further said he would not make any compromises over Marathi and the people of Maharashtra. “Those who live in Maharashtra, to them I would like to say ‘learn Marathi as soon as possible, wherever you go, speak Marathi’. In Karnataka, they fight for their language. Even a rickshaw puller knows that the Government is standing behind him over language. Similarly, you be like a pillar and speak in Marathi only. This is what I have come to request all of you,” he added.
Thackeray again asserted his firm stance over the ongoing Hindi-Marathi row in Maharashtra, saying that if someone doesn’t understand Marathi, they will get a tight slap. “Now if you can’t understand Marathi even when it’s spoken directly into your ear, you’ll get a slap below it. People create a fuss for no reason.”
Recalling the incident when his party workers assaulted a shop owner in Mira Bhayandar for not speaking Marathi and taunting the local traders for protesting against the assault on the shopkeeper, Raj Thackeray said, “Whatever happened to that person was because of his attitude. Other traders had called for a shutdown. But if someone closes their shop under pressure, understand this—how long will you keep your shop shut? If we stop buying, then what?”
The situation worsened after incidents involving verbal and physical assaults, vandalism, and public intimidation by the MNS workers have been reported from various parts of the state, drawing widespread criticism and legal scrutiny.
In multiple videos that have gone viral on social media, MNS workers were seen confronting shopkeepers, auto drivers, and even bank employees for not speaking Marathi. In one incident in Mumbai, a medical shop employee was beaten and forced to apologise publicly for allegedly posting a WhatsApp status deemed disrespectful to the Marathi language. In another case from Pune, a bank manager was slapped during work hours for addressing customers in Hindi.
A petition was also filed in the Bombay High Court seeking a court direction to file an FIR against Thackeray for threats to law and order situation in the state.
