Maratha assertion forces BJP to roll back Hindi imposition in Maharashtra
Mumbai: In a significant political setback, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been forced to roll back its aggressive Hindi push in Maharashtra amid growing resistance from Maratha identity movements and the resurging influence of the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
According to Kashmir Media Service, analysts suggest the April 16 orders, mandating Hindi as the third language across primary sections of the state’s schools, were a BJP’s calculated move to appease the Mumbai’s 4.5 million Hindi-speaking people ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections this year.
Articulated by opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, led by cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, respectively, the “Marathi manoos” narrative surged in the aftermath of the state government’s April 16 order. A subsequent June 17 order diluting the first circular and making Hindi optional did not cut ice and was framed by the Shiv Sena (UBT) as an attempt to marginalise Marathis.
Uddhav on Sunday led a protest at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, where copies of the controversial government resolutions on Hindi were burnt amid loud cheers. This left the state government with the only option of withdrawing the orders as analysts noted that the anti-Hindi narrative could lead to a law and order problem in the Marathi-dominated state.
According to the analysts, information on massive Marathi mobilisation ahead of Uddhav’s rally on July 5 was the tipping point for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “It would have been a mobilisation next only to the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, which played a crucial role in the formation of Maharashtra in 1960,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant told a media outlet.
Sawant said the ruling dispensation could see Maharashtra uniting behind Uddhav and backtracked to stall the July 5 rally, where Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS chiefs were to urge people to show solidarity of “Marathi manoos”. “The April 16 order was brought to divide Marathi and Hindi speaking people of the state for political gains,” he added.
Analysts say the BJP had not anticipated the Marathi backlash to the Hindi move — as seen in demonstrations, led by Uddhav. The July 5 rally could have meant a decisive resurgence for Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction.
