E-Paper
‘Ahead of all Hindi-speaking states’: Raj Thackeray's big remark amid Maharashtra language row
Raj Thackeray's remarks came at the joint rally in Mumbai's Worli, that he addressed alongside his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday claimed that all Hindi-speaking states were "behind" Maharashtra, asking why then was the state "being forced to learn Hindi".
His remarks came at the joint rally in Mumbai's Worli, that he addressed alongside his cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, after a political rivalry of 20 years.
"All the Hindi-speaking states are behind us, and we are ahead of all Hindi-speaking states; still, we are being forced to learn Hindi. Why?" the MNS chief asked.
Raj Thackeray's remarks came days after the government reversed its order directing Hindi be made a third language in primary schools in Maharashtra. The order had sparked huge backlash from the Opposition and language advocacy groups in the state.
Thackeray also said that Maharashtra School Education Minister Dada Bhuse had tried to convince him over the move, to which the MNS chief asked “what the third language would be for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan”.
"Hindi speaking states are economically backward. People are migrating from these states to non-Hindi speaking states. Why didn't Hindi help them progress?" Thackeray asked.
Even as Raj Thackeray asserted that Maharashtra was ahead of Hindi-speaking states, he maintained that he was not against the language. “I don’t have anything against Hindi, no language is bad. It takes a lot of effort to build a language. We Marathi people ruled over a lot of states during the Maratha Empire, but we never enforced Marathi on those parts,” Thackeray said.
He also alleged that had the decision to have Hindi as the third language in primary schools not been opposed, “they would have gone upto making Mumbai separate from Maharashtra”.
Besides, Uddhav Thackeray, who was also present at the rally, vowed that Hindi would never be allowed as a mandatory language in Maharashtra.
Marathi row in Maharashtra
Apart from a row over the now-revoked government order for teaching Hindi language in primary schools, Maharashtra is seeing another language-linked controversy.
Over the past few months, cases of people being thrashed for either not knowing Marathi or refusing to converse in the language, have been on the rise.
Recently, the case of a shop owner in Thane being thrashed for denying to speak in Marathi sparked a row, with the state government opposing such incidents.
Reacting to such incidents, Raj Thackeray said, “No need to resort to violence every now and then. If someone resorts to mischief, then give it back”.
