Incidents of heated arguments over people not knowing the regional language have been cropping up at several places across the country. A similar incident took place in a city in Maharashtra where a woman was threatened by a man to speak in Marathi instead of Hindi. (Also Read | Mumbai couple harasses pizza delivery man for not speaking Marathi. Video sparks outrage)
Maharashtra woman threatened for not speaking Marathi
A video of the incident was shared on X (formerly Twitter). The clip began with a man recording a video of a woman who said, "Kya bolun (what should I say)?" The man repeatedly threatened her to speak in Marathi. She kept on saying, "Nahi aata hai mujhe Marathi. Bhasha hai woh (I don't know how to speak Marathi. It's a language)."
‘Brave’ woman confronts man
The man next asked her how she was staying in Maharashtra without knowing the language. The shocked woman replied several times, "Meri marzi se rehti hoon. Mera khud ka ghar hai (I stay as per my wish. I've my own house here)." Next, he asked where her village is. To this she replied, "Mera gaon kahi ka bhi rahe (Let wherever my village be)."
Woman says she doesn't know Marathi
The person again told her, "Marathi mein baat karne ka (You have to speak in Marathi)." The woman screamed at him, "Nahi karungi. Kya karloge? Main koi bhi bhasha se baat karun, mera zabaan meri marzi (I won't speak. What will you do? I'll speak whatever language I want, my mouth my wish)." The caption read, "Kalesh (Fight) b/w a Marathi guy and lady over not speaking Marathi in Maharashtra."
Internet reacts
{{/usCountry}}The person again told her, "Marathi mein baat karne ka (You have to speak in Marathi)." The woman screamed at him, "Nahi karungi. Kya karloge? Main koi bhi bhasha se baat karun, mera zabaan meri marzi (I won't speak. What will you do? I'll speak whatever language I want, my mouth my wish)." The caption read, "Kalesh (Fight) b/w a Marathi guy and lady over not speaking Marathi in Maharashtra."
Internet reacts
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the post, a person wrote, "Language is important, but you can't harass like this. Both of them should be polite!" A comment read, "If we continue down this path of linguistic intolerance, we risk creating invisible borders within our own country. And honestly, do we really need more division in a country that already struggles with religious, caste, and political divides? Words should unite, not divide." "Brave woman," said another person.
A tweet read, "If you come across any language warriors, just say 'Okay, I’ll learn soon,' and walk away. No need to waste your energy." "There is no law mandating anyone to speak a specific language in India anywhere. In fact, Article 351 instructs the Union to advance and enhance Hindi as a cultural medium and way to allow more regions to mingle. This is so weird and awkward," tweeted a person.
"Great Indians, great! I can bet if the East India Company came to India again, it could rule for 1000s of years here! Just "Divide and Rule" again! From the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, whose love and respect for his mother is known worldwide! Where is the respect now?" asked an X user.
"@MumbaiPolice @DGPMaharashtra, please take action against this guy for forcing someone to speak in Marathi. This is India, and we can live anywhere," wrote a person. "There's no such thing as a native language in any place. It keeps changing with time. Before Marathi was spoken, there were many dialects among the tribal people there. Marathi might not be the original language of that region," shared an X user.
Similar incident recently occurred in Mumbai
This video has emerged amid another similar incident where a pizza delivery person was harassed by a couple for not speaking in Marathi. As per an NDTV report, the incident took place at the Sai Radhe building in Mumbai's Bhandup on Monday.