Angry over the move to make Hindi compulsory in schools, workers of major parties burn copies of the decision and accuse the government of insulting the Marathi language and culture
MUMBAI – Widespread protests broke out across Maharashtra after the state government announced Hindi would be the third compulsory language in schools. Political workers from Shiv Sena (UBT), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) held demonstrations in several cities, expressing strong opposition to the move.
In Jalgaon, workers from MNS, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP gathered at Court Chowk to protest together on Monday. Though there has been no official alliance between the parties at the state level, their local leaders united for this cause. The protesters burned copies of the government’s General Resolution (GR) and raised slogans against imposing Hindi on the people.
Ijaz Malik, NCP’s Jalgaon city president, said: “The government decision is unfair. It will hurt the identity of Marathi people. We will not accept it.”
Gulab Rao Patil, deputy leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), also joined the protest. He said, “The government must not forget that Maharashtra has its own rich language and culture. We will fight to protect Marathi.”
Former MLA and MNS leader J Prakash Baviskar added: “Making Hindi compulsory like this is nothing short of an attack on our regional pride. We will not stay silent.”
Many other local leaders and workers, including Sharad Taide, Kiran Bhau, Jamil Deshpande and Mateen Syed, were present during the protest.
In Nagpur, Shiv Sena (UBT) organised a protest at Resham Bagh Chowk. There, too, copies of the GR were burned. Protesters shouted slogans like “Marathi insult will not be tolerated” and “Stop imposing Hindi”.
A local leader of Uddhav Thackeray’s group said, “The government is trying to push Marathi into the background. They want to make it just a formal language used in offices. This is not acceptable to us.”
In Nanded, Shiv Sena (UBT) workers held a protest and symbolically burnt copies of the GR. The leaders said the government’s move was an “attack on Marathi language, culture and identity”.
One protester said: “This is a clear injustice. The government is ignoring the feelings of Marathi-speaking people.”
Another added: “We will not compromise on our language. If needed, we will take this fight to every street of Maharashtra.”
Speakers warned that the protest would grow bigger if the government did not take back the GR. They said that people across the state are angry and ready to continue the fight to protect Marathi.
The opposition parties are demanding that the decision be withdrawn immediately. They say the policy is unfair and hurts regional pride. The movement is expected to spread further if the state government does not respond.
