Maha Govt declares Oct 3 as Marathi Language Day, counters Thackeray bonhomie
at a Mumbai rally on Saturday.
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Marathi Bhasha Din will be followed by a week-long statewide celebration recognising Marathi's ancient literary heritage.
Political observers say the ruling coalition's withdrawal of the controversial Hindi-in-schools circular was driven less by linguistic pride and more by looming local body elections — particularly the high-stakes battle for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
On Saturday, at a rally marking the rollback, the long-separated Thackeray cousins — Uddhav and Raj — shared the dais for the first time in over two decades, joined by their respective political heirs Aaditya and Amit.
The rare embrace electrified party cadres and re-energised their political relevance. "It was the moment every Marathi voter waited for," one Shiv Sainik said.
Political analysts believe the Marathi language issue provided the perfect cover for the cousins to realign. "Both UBT Sena and MNS have struggled since the assembly polls. While Uddhav Sena managed to win 20 seats, the Raj Thackeray-led scored a zero. This was a strategic opportunity to consolidate Marathi sentiment," an observer noted, pointing out that the BJP-led govt scored a self-goal in issuing Hindi language circulars at the wrong time.
The official govt resolution, meanwhile, calls for cultural and academic activities across departments, schools, civic bodies, and private institutions. District collectors have been named nodal officers for the celebration, which will include book exhibitions, manuscript displays, lectures, quizzes, elocution contests, and digitisation of classical works. Reports of these programmes must be submitted to the Directorate of Languages by October 31.
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Marathi was granted the elite status of a classical language in 2024 (placing it in the league of Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia) acknowledging its 2,500-year-old literary lineage and scholarly contributions.
Still, the timing of the announcement — after a massive political outcry over the Hindi directive — makes it hard to ignore the political undertone. As one senior leader admitted privately, "We gave them an issue.
They gave us a political moment."
Uddhav-Raj reunion: Shiv Sainiks say Balasaheb's dream fulfilled
The coming together of Thackeray cousins has been hailed by city-based Shiv Sena (UBT) cadre as the fulfilment of late Balasaheb Thackeray's dream. In Nagpur, party workers led by city chief Nitin Tiwari celebrated the reunion at Bahadura-based Shiv Sena office with sweet distribution and patriotic slogans hailing Marathi pride.
Calling it a "historic moment," Tiwari said, "For 18 to 20 years, every Marathi-speaking citizen of this state waited for this day. Today, Balasaheb's dream has been realised and a proud moment for every Shiv Sainik." Tiwari added that it will give birth to a new era of "Thackeray-style" politics, where self-respect and rights of the Marathi community will be safeguarded. He called the event not just political symbolism but a socio-cultural realignment for Marathi pride.
"This is not just about votes. This is about our roots, identity, and future," Tiwari said.
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