Speak Marathi or get out: Woman abused in Mumbai local as seat dispute escalates
This led to more women joining in, turning the argument into a larger issue about language. The video below has been muted for viewers as it contains strong language and verbal abuse. Railway authorities confirmed the incident took place in the ladies' compartment of a local train on the Central Railway. However, no formal complaint has been filed with the authorities yet.This altercation was a new page of the ongoing language debate in Maharashtra. Recently, MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) workers have faced criticism for targeting those who don't speak Marathi. Earlier this week, in a separate incident, a shopkeeper in Vikhroli was attacked by MNS workers for a WhatsApp status deemed offensive to the Marathi community. The shopkeeper was forced to apologise publicly while being physically assaulted.In another incident, MNS workers in Thane slapped a street food vendor for refusing to speak Marathi. A migrant auto-rickshaw driver in Palghar district was also assaulted by MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) supporters for not speaking the language.- Ends
IN THIS STORY#Mumbai
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
36 minutes ago
- India Today
In Modi's ‘Kali-Durga' stage-cry, a new BJP vocabulary for Bengal?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on July 18, walked onto the stage in West Bengal's Durgapur with the ease of a seasoned performer. Yet, what followed stunned many: no chants of Jai Shri Ram from the crowd or BJP leaders. Instead, from the stage thundered two phrases steeped in Bengal's own religious vocabulary: 'Jai Ma Kali' and 'Jai Ma Durga'.This was no oversight. It was a calculated message, part of the BJP's ongoing attempt to rebrand itself according to Bengal's political and sociocultural ethos. For a party that has invested heavily in Ram-centric Hindutva across the Hindi belt, this pivot was Durgapur rally was a cocktail of cultural cues. The dcor mimicked a Durga Puja pandal rather than a political dais, with motifs more in tune with Bengal's autumnal festivities than, say, northern India's Ram Navami celebrations. The BJP MLA from Durgapur Purba, Lakshman Chandra Ghorui, had even sent out printed invites that conspicuously mentioned only Kali and Durga, leaving out Ram wasn't a one-off deviation. Over the past year, the BJP has been soft-launching a more 'Bengali' version of itself. The shift is a response to the party's consistent failure—despite aggressive campaigns—to crack the Bengali vote in numbers big enough to unseat the Trinamool Congress (TMC). To understand the change, one must first understand the terrain. The culturally Hindu Bengali is politically resistant to Hindi belt-style majoritarianism. The state's long legacy of left-wing politics, bhadralok secularism and intellectual cosmopolitanism makes Ayodhya-style saffron appeals fall flat among wide sections of BJP's early strategy had been simple: replicate its Uttar Pradesh model. It ratcheted up Ram Navami processions, highlighted alleged Muslim appeasement by the Mamata Banerjee government and portrayed itself as the defender of Sanatan Dharma. But this approach ran into a wall—Bengalis do not see Lord Ram as their primary 2021, the Ram card had clearly begun to fail. The BJP's muscular Hindutva, including Jai Shri Ram sloganeering in rallies—Mamata herself being subjected to some—and episodes of confrontation with Muslims—galvanised its base but simultaneously consolidated the minorities behind the TMC. The BJP won 77 of the total 294 seats in assembly polls that year, an impressive surge from the previous election, but still way short of its own Durgapur moment, then, was not impulsive—it was surgical. The decision to foreground Goddess Durga and Goddess Kali at this stage of the BJP's campaign cycle is about localising Hindutva. In doing so, Modi may have sought to break Mamata's narrative of the BJP as a 'Hindi heartland' party imposing Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan on in particular, is politically potent. She is not just a religious figure in Bengal but also a cultural archetype—fierce, maternal, revolutionary. From Rani Rashmoni to Ramakrishna Paramahansa to even Rabindranath Tagore's writings, Kali holds a mystic grip on Bengal's imagination. Durga represents order, civilisation and the annual moment of communal watchers feel the Modi camp appears to be repositioning Durga as the moral centre of Bengali Hindutva, rather than Ram as the ultimate warrior. In doing so, it hopes to de-communalise the pitch just enough to woo softer Hindu voters who are uncomfortable with North-style Ram Janmabhoomi BJP high command clearly believes it is worth the risk. The 2024 Lok Sabha polls gave the BJP 12 out of 42 seats in Bengal, a sharp drop from 18 in 2019. The decline spooked the leadership, especially given the aggressive Muslim mobilisation and Mamata's success in projecting the BJP as a party of 'bohiragato' (outsiders).As the 2026 assembly elections loom large, Modi's shift suggests a full-throated bid to reclaim cultural space on Bengal's terms. That includes talking about Lord Jagannath in Digha, chanting mantras in Bangla and, yes, invoking Ma Durga instead of Lord the BJP's 2021 campaign was high on noise and provocation, the new messaging is more coded and less confrontational. That's not to say the communal dog-whistles are gone—but these are layered beneath a more 'cultured' Hindutva, cloaked in Tagorean gravitas and Bengali the Durgapur rally, Modi praised Bengal's contribution to India's spiritual and nationalist traditions. He invoked Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Vande Mataram, highlighted Swami Vivekananda and talked about how Kali and Durga represented the soul of Bharat. Unspoken, but politically loud, was Ram not finding a mention. It was almost as if the BJP had decided to bench its biggest star—for duality—between North Indian assertive Hindutva and Bengali cultural Hindutva—is now being played out in real time. On the ground, BJP workers still organise Ram Navami rallies, often clashing with police or rival groups. In the tribal and border districts, party leaders continue to pitch the Muslim migrant threat narrative. But at the top tier, a new messaging is evolving. The saffron flag remains but the winds that make it flutter now carry a distinctly Bengali out at Modi, Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC's national general secretary, mocked that he will make the BJP say 'Joi Bangla' after the assembly polls next year. 'First they insult Bengal and Bengalis. Now they come to Bengal, exclude Ram and chant Kali and Durga. I promise that after 2026, I will make them say 'Joi Bangla',' Abhishek said at his party's flagship Martyrs' Day event in Kolkata on July 21. 'Joi Bangla' has been the TMC's slogan since the 2021 is clear that the BJP's challenge is greater than it may imagine. In Bengal, religion is not a binary. Durga Puja organisers often include Muslim craftsmen. Muharram and Durga idol immersion processions, if falling on the same day, can happen simultaneously and without BJP's narrative that the TMC is anti-Hindu hasn't fully taken root. So now, instead of fighting Mamata on Ram, the BJP wants to 'out-Durga' her. A risky but creative to India Today Magazine- EndsTune InMust Watch
News18
an hour ago
- News18
MNS Workers Force Removal of Gujarati Display Board at BJP MLA's Office At Mumbai
Last Updated: A Gujarati display board at Gujarat BJP MLA's office was removed under police supervision after protests led by MNS and other parties, demanding a Marathi board. Marathi language row continues to aggravate in Maharashtra, now, a Gujarati display board at the office of a Gujarat BJP MLA's office was forced to be removed. Workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and from other political parties forced the removal outside the public relations office of Virendrasinh Bahadursinh Jadeja, who represents Rapar assembly constituency in Gujarat. The board was removed under police supervision. MNS gave an ultimatum for the removal of the board last week. A protest march led by MNS Navi Mumbai City Secretary Sachin Kadam, along with leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), reached the NRI Sagari police station demanding the removal of a Gujarati board. The delegation insisted on replacing it with a Marathi one and called for action against those who 'insulted" the Marathi identity. Senior police inspector Sunil Kadam assured the delegation that the contentious board would be removed immediately. Following this assurance, MNS leaders and supporters went to the BJP office, where, under police supervision, the Gujarati plaque was taken down. Case In Supreme Court The Marathi row has reached the Supreme Court with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) being filed against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly inciting violence against Hindi-speaking people and language-based hatred. A lawyer, Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay, filed the plea. He is seeking FIR against Raj Thackeray and his party workers, according to news agency ANI. view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 19:24 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
‘It's actually a Delhi Hindi': External affairs minister S Jaishankar is a polyglot, know what languages he can speak
When we think of politicians with a command over language, Shashi Tharoor — known for his eloquence and famously expansive vocabulary — often comes to mind. But Dr S Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister, stands not far behind. The career diplomat is a polyglot too, juggling a surprising mix of languages that reflect both his diplomatic career and personal life. In a recent candid chat, Dr Jaishankar spoke about the languages he knows.'Obviously, I speak English,' he said with a smile, a given for someone in his role. But the conversation quickly became more personal as he opened up about his connection to other tongues. When it comes to Hindi, he said: 'I speak Hindi… not at a very high standard, but with a kind of street smart fluency.' Then, with a bit of humour, he clarified what kind of Hindi that is — not the literary kind, not even the academic JNU kind — 'It's actually a Delhi Hindi. I was born in Delhi, so it's a very Delhi person's Hindi.' Though his roots are Tamil, Dr Jaishankar admitted that he never formally learnt the language. 'I can speak Tamil, but not with the kind of fluency and command of vocabulary that I would like,' he said honestly, showing the humility of someone who still wants to learn more. But his journey with languages didn't stop there. His time in the Foreign Service introduced him to Russian. 'Russian is different because I actually studied it in the Foreign Service,' he shared, showing that some languages entered his life through duty, not birth. In a moment that made everyone smile, he revealed that he even knew some Japanese. 'I have a working, rudimentary sense of Japanese… because I do need to talk to my wife from time to time,' he said, chuckling.
