MNS slams Amit Shah's multilingual Maharashtra remark, threatens to send history book
MNS spokesperson Gajanan Kale objected to Amit Shah calling Maharashtra multilingual, warning Marathi cannot be attacked in Hindi's name
The Marathi language issue has flared up again in Maharashtra. After Union Home Minister Amit Shah called Maharashtra a multilingual state at an event, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) reacted sharply. MNS spokesperson Gajanan Kale objected to Shah's remark, saying it should be remembered that Maharashtra is a Marathi-speaking state.
Kale said Amit Shah should not insult Marathi by coming to Maharashtra, since Maharashtra is a Marathi-speaking state. He gave a direct warning that if needed, a book detailing the history of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement would be sent to Amit Shah.
Gajanan Kale further said that while calling Maharashtra a multilingual state, the Marathi people and the history of Maharashtra should not be forgotten. He said no one has any objection to learning Hindi, but Marathi should not be attacked in the name of Hindi.
Kale said clearly that anyone who needs to work in Hindi will certainly learn Hindi. But Maharashtra will not tolerate an insult to Maharashtra by attacking the Marathi language under the guise of a Hindi language conference. He also cited Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and other southern states, and asked whether Amit Shah could make such a statement after going to those states as well.
Kale reminded that Maharashtra was formed as a state because of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. He said that to help Amit Shah understand Maharashtra's identity and the importance of the Marathi language, a book on the history of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement would be sent to him.
Separately, in his speech Amit Shah had spoken of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Swarajya, Swabhasha and the contribution of the Marathi language. He said he paid respect to Maharashtra's multilingual culture. Shah said that along with Marathi, languages such as Konkani, Gujarati, Hindi, Sindhi and Warli had developed in Maharashtra and all of them deserved respect. He also mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had granted Marathi classical language status.
Citing the example of Gujarat, Amit Shah said Gujarati, not Hindi, is spoken in Gujarat, but he had no difficulty working at the national level because he understood and spoke Hindi. He also referred to the work done by Swatantryaveer Savarkar to purify the Marathi language, and said every language of India needs to be enriched.
But following MNS's aggressive stance after this statement, the Marathi versus Hindi language issue is likely to heat up again in Maharashtra politics.
