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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Thackerays Reunite to Oppose BJP's Hindi Imposition in Maharashtra
Published : Jul 23, 2025 11:57 IST - 11 MINS READ 'What Balasaheb [Thackeray] failed to do, Devendra Fadnavis has accomplished,' said Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray at the Marathi Victory Rally that he held jointly with his (until recently, quite seriously estranged) cousin and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on July 5. The cousins were sharing a political stage after 19 years, and the reunion followed the Maharashtra government's revocation of two government resolutions (GR) that had made the learning of Hindi mandatory from class I. The rally—marked by visibly euphoric supporters and a strong assertion of language pride—may well redraw the political boundaries in Maharashtra. A GR issued on April 16 made Hindi a compulsory third language from class I to V, and both Marathi- and English-medium schools were required to teach Hindi. The move provoked an instant reaction from politicians, linguists, authors, film artistes, playwrights, and social activists. Framing the issue as an attack on Marathi language and culture, Raj Thackeray urged parents to resist the implementation of the GR. He also asked bookshop owners not to sell Hindi textbooks for classes I to V, and told headmasters to advise parents not to buy them. On April 22, as opposition to the GR intensified, Primary Education Minister Dada Bhuse announced that Hindi would not be made mandatory and promised a revised GR. With the announcement, the issue appeared resolved, at least on the surface. But it was not. Also Read | Why Maharashtra withdrew its Hindi language mandate in schools When the revised GR did not come as promptly as had been expected (it finally came on June 17), Deepak Pawar, a retired professor of Marathi at the University of Mumbai, sensed a 'betrayal'. Two decades earlier, he had founded Marathi Abhyas Kendra to study the challenges facing the language. Since then, he has spearheaded every major linguistic battle for Marathi. Deepak Pawar mobilised like-minded individuals and established the Shaley Shikshan Abhyas Ani Kruti Samanvaya Samiti (Primary Education Study and Action Coordination Committee), rallying organisations committed to Marathi along with educationists, linguists, journalists, and popular Marathi YouTubers. He organised meetings across the State to warn about the possible imposition of Hindi and the sociopolitical consequences of that. 'As the State government delayed issuing the GR, I suspected a bigger battle ahead. Maharashtra has become a testing ground for the BJP and the RSS. Once they succeed in imposing Hindi here, they will alter the State's culture along the lines of Hindi-speaking States. This represents their 'Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan' politics. Marathi cannot become its victim,' Deepak Pawar told Frontline. He met leaders of political parties—excluding those of the ruling coalition—and urged them to demand a new GR minus the clause making Hindi compulsory from class I. Among the leaders he met were Uddhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray, Congress State chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, and representatives of the CPI(M). Revised GR and political realignment The revised GR of June 17 also turned out to be controversial: it said Hindi would 'generally' become the third language, but if more than 20 students in a class opted for an alternative, the State would provide a teacher. This 20-student condition was seen as a back-door attempt to impose Hindi in class I. Deepak Pawar, authors, artistes, and other prominent personalities rejected it outright. Even the Marathi media, previously accused of having a pro-BJP bias, questioned the rationale of introducing Hindi from class I. The opposition saw this as an opportunity to exert pressure on the BJP-led government. In an attempt to placate the critics, Chief Minister Fadnavis announced on June 23 that a final decision on the three-language policy would be taken only after consultations with all stakeholders. Meanwhile, language activists stepped up their campaign. The renowned poet Pradnya Daya Pawar received widespread support when she called for a protest march on June 30, the opening day of the monsoon session in the Assembly. Deepak Pawar's coordination committee announced a GR-burning agitation on June 29 and invited all political parties to join. Before long, a political realignment took shape. After his defeat in the 2024 Assembly election, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction has been disintegrating. With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election approaching, Uddhav faces a make-or-break moment. The BMC, Asia's richest local body with an annual budget of over Rs.50,000 crore, has been under Shiv Sena's control since 1995, and remains the party's political and financial backbone. Despite losing his party to the BJP-backed Eknath Shinde faction, Uddhav still wields significant influence in Mumbai. Ten of his 20 MLAs elected in 2024 represent Mumbai constituencies. The BJP views Mumbai as the final prize to assert its dominance in Maharashtra. Moreoever, the city resonates deeply with Marathi people. Mumbai was central to the 1960s movement for a linguistic State, and Maharashtrians passionately asserted their claim to the city, which ultimately became the State's capital. Ruling Mumbai remains a matter of pride for the 'Marathi Manoos'. As the BMC election draws near, Uddhav's group once again seeks to revive the issue of Marathi identity. Earlier talks on an alliance with Raj Thackeray had failed. Now, suddenly, such an alliance looks plausible, what with Raj's waning influence and Uddhav's precarious position. Still, Raj was evasive when the Uddhav camp sent out feelers; the former even strengthened his bargaining position by meeting Fadnavis at a luxury hotel on June 12. All the while, the Hindi-versus-Marathi agitation was gathering steam. On June 26, Bhuse clarified that Hindi would be taught in spoken form in classes I and II, and writing would start only in class III. This was taken to be a sign that the government was still pressing ahead with Hindi from class I. In any case, public sentiment had already turned sharply after the June 17 GR, and the Thackeray cousins announced (separate) rallies over the issue; Uddhav on July 7 and Raj on July 5. However, there was popular pressure on the Thackeray cousins to hold a joint rally. Raj phoned Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP and Uddhav's confidant, proposing a united rally. Uddhav cancelled his own and joined Raj's July 5 rally. The reunion of the cousins, as expected, made banner headlines. With the anti-Hindi movement gathering momentum, the State government revoked the GRs on June 29. But the fat was in the fire by then, and the Thackerays turned their morcha into a victory rally with all the other opposition parties in attendance. The two cousins took the stage in a glittering Bollywood-style ceremony, indicating a future political alliance between them. Uddhav said in his speech: 'We have come together to stay together. This is not just for the municipalities. But for Maharashtra.' Clearly, battle lines are being redrawn in the State. The challenges ahead for Thackeray cousins The public pressure on the Thackeray cousins is enormous. Their first challenge is to have a cohesive alliance for the elections to the BMC and other local bodies. There are 29 municipal corporations in the State, including those of Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nagpur. Elections are also due in 32 zilla parishads (district councils) and 336 panchayat samitis (tehsil councils). Most probably, all these elections will be held by the end of 2025, making them an exercise akin to State Assembly elections. The BMC may be the biggest prize, but elections to other local bodies are also important. Having a credible seat-sharing adjustment for these, at least in the major cities, is important. For Uddhav, another significant challenge is to define his party's role in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the State-level formation that corresponds to the INDIA bloc at the national level. Joining hands with Raj's MNS with its image of a staunch anti-north-Indian party could be problematic for the Congress, an MVA partner. With the Bihar election scheduled to be held more or less simultaneously with Maharashtra's local body elections, the Congress cannot risk an alliance with the MNS. The changing demography of Mumbai adds to the complexity of the upcoming municipal election. According to Census 2011, there are 44,04,928 people in Mumbai whose mother tongue is Marathi; 35,98,542 people whose mother tongue is Hindi; 14,28,091 people whose mother tongue is Gujarati; and 14,59,412 people whose mother tongue is Urdu. The figures show that the number of Hindi speakers is close to the number of Marathi speakers. If we compare the data with Census 2001, the change is striking. There is a jump of 39.35 per cent in the number of people reporting their mother tongue as Hindi. There is a 2.64 per cent dip in the number of people reporting Marathi as their mother tongue. The number of people reporting their mother tongue as Gujarati has gone down by 0.45 per cent while that of people reporting Urdu as their mother tongue is down by 8.09 per cent. Clearly, the number of people from north India who are registering Hindi as their mother tongue is sharply increasing. In this situation, the polarisation of Hindi-speaking people against a possible alliance between Uddhav and Raj may be a serious challenge. The BJP is likely to emerge as the sole beneficiary of a possible polarisation of Hindi and Gujarati speakers against Marathi speakers. The BJP can also ensure a division of Marathi votes by fielding more Marathi candidates in the city. The BJP's strategy That the BJP-led government took its time to revoke the GRs indicates a well-thought-out strategy. The ruling party was probably testing the phenomenon of 'reverse polarisation' in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which is home to nine municipal corporations. A non-Marathi polarisation will help the BJP. A language polarisation might also undercut the clout of the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, which remains a formidable challenge for the BJP in the eight cities other than Mumbai. Language polarisation will hurt Shinde if Marathi speakers consolidate in favour of the Thackeray cousins. The BJP can expect to draw the non-Marathi votes and also reap the benefit of a weakened alliance partner. There are enough signs indicating that such a reverse polarisation is taking place in Mumbai and its surrounding areas, helped not a little by some recent violent incidents. In Mira Bhayandar city close to Mumbai, MNS workers beat up a shopkeeper for allegedly disrespecting Marathi. The city's shopkeepers association went on a day's strike, leading to a full-blown Marathi-versus-Gujarati battle on social media platforms. BJP leaders stoked the flames, and a statement by Nishikant Dubey, the BJP's MP from Jharkhand, offended Marathi speakers. The Thackeray cousins, in turn, ensured that attention did not stray from the issue of Hindi imposition. Raj said in his speech on July 5 that he had many Gujarati friends and there was 'no need to beat all the people all the time'. He asked his supporters to not take the law into their own hands if matters could be sorted out by 'just counselling the person'. Uddhav's son Aaditya said that the BJP wanted to stoke the 'Marathi-versus-others' issue. 'We are opposing only Hindi imposition. Workers are getting angry when somebody disrespects Marathi. We are not against common Hindi-speaking people,' he said on July 7. The BJP's ideological leaning also explains the reluctance shown by the government to revoke the GRs. The idea is not new, and the imposition of Hindi in Maharashtra is known to be an agenda of the RSS. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is perceived as being part of the larger RSS plan to 'Indianise' the education system. 'Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan' is at the core of the RSS ideology. The Supreme Court has said that it cannot compel any State to adopt the NEP, and southern States such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka have opposed it. The RSS, however, continues to push Hindi. The fate of the GRs in Maharashtra to make Hindi compulsory from class I may well be perceived as an ideological defeat for the RSS. Yet, that is not how the BJP and the RSS would like to project what happened in Maharashtra. A day after the Thackeray cousins' triumphant rally, Sunil Ambekar, the RSS' national media-in-charge, clarified that the RSS was in favour of nurturing all mother tongues and not Hindi alone. Also Read | Old formula, new laboratory: Hindutva finds fresh ground in Maharashtra 'From the start, the RSS is clear that all the languages of India are national languages. All people want to take primary education in their mother tongue. The RSS is also of the same view,' said Ambekar in Delhi. Language politics, however, resonates across State borders. Immediately after the July 5 rally, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin tweeted in support of Marathi, saying he was part of the battle for Marathi. He also posted on X: 'Raj Thackeray's question about which third language would be taught in Rajasthan is important.' So, it is not just about Maharashtra or Marathi. The language battle is now taking on larger dimensions. The opposition encountered by those trying to impose Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking States offers an ideological counter to the BJP's cultural politics. The governments in all southern States save Andhra Pradesh (led by the National Democratic Alliance partner, the Telugu Desam Party) are vocal against Hindi. The recent events in Maharashtra may well herald a wider battle ahead.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Uttar Pradesh cabinet approves 1% discount in stamp duty on property purchased in name of women
LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved a one per cent discount in stamp duty on property worth up to Rs one crore if it is purchased in the name of a woman. A decision in this regard was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at Lok Bhavan in Lucknow, the UP government said in a statement, and added that a total of 37 proposals were passed in the meeting. Till now, this exemption was applicable only on property up to Rs 10 lakh in the state, in which a maximum discount of Rs 10,000 was available. But now the government has increased this exemption to property up to Rs one crore. Giving information about the decision, UP's Labour Minister Anil Rajbhar said that the government believes this decision will help middle class women become property owners, which will not only increase their confidence but they will also become financially more capable and respected in the society. This exemption will also strengthen the Mission Shakti programme, under which women are being made self-reliant and empowered, he said. In Budget 2024, the central government had also talked about reducing the stamp duty on deeds executed in favour of women. This decision of the Uttar Pradesh government is being considered as a step in the same direction. There is a possibility of a huge increase in the registration of property in the name of women, the statement said. The UP Cabinet also approved the proposal to give 10 hectares of land free of cost on an annual lease rent of Re one in favour of IR Detection Technology Centre proposed by IRDE (Instruments Research and Development Establishment), DRDO. This centre will be set up in the Lucknow node of Uttar Pradesh Defense Industrial Corridor. Under this project, about 150 engineers and technical personnel are likely to get direct employment and more than 500 people are likely to get indirect employment. IRDE, Dehradun is a constituent laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). This institute is starting a new project to establish an indigenous fab-line for the development and manufacture of IR detectors. This project proposes to set up a semiconductor IR detector manufacturing facility. This will put India in the category of leading countries, the Uttar Pradesh government said in the statement.
News18
4 hours ago
- News18
'Outstanding Thinker': PM Modi Pays Tributes To Lokmanya Tilak On 169th Birth Anniversary
Last Updated: Remembering Tilak's role in igniting the nationalist movement, the Prime Minister highlighted his belief in education and service. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid homage to freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his 169th birth anniversary, praising his courage and lasting contributions to India's struggle for independence. Remembering Tilak's role in igniting the nationalist movement, the Prime Minister highlighted his belief in education and service. 'Remembering Lokmanya Tilak on his birth anniversary. He was a pioneering leader who played a vital role in kindling the spirit of India's freedom movement with unwavering conviction. He was also an outstanding thinker who believed in the power of knowledge and serving others," PM Modi wrote on X. Remembering Lokmanya Tilak on his birth anniversary. He was a pioneering leader who played a vital role in kindling the spirit of India's freedom movement with unwavering conviction. He was also an outstanding thinker who believed in the power of knowledge and serving others.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 23, 2025 Bal Gangadhar Tilak is remembered for promoting the concept of Swaraj, or self-rule, during British rule. A strong advocate of civil rights, he used journalism as a tool of resistance, founding the weeklies Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English. A scholar and philosopher, Tilak played a foundational role in shaping India's early independence movement. He led the Indian Home Rule League after its formation in 1914 and co-signed the 1916 Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which promoted Hindu-Muslim unity in the national movement. A scholar, lawyer, and journalist, Tilak played a pivotal role in awakening nationalist sentiments through his writings and public addresses. His iconic assertion—"Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it"—became a rallying cry that inspired countless Indians to join the freedom struggle. His deep connect with the people earned him the title 'Lokmanya," signifying the public's recognition of his leadership and vision. view comments First Published: July 23, 2025, 10:15 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.
