Mumbai’s Language Debate Heats Up as Aditya Thackeray Counters RSS Leader
Mumbai, 6th March 2025: Following the ongoing language dispute in Tamil Nadu, a new controversy has emerged in Maharashtra after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray asserted on Thursday that Marathi will remain the state’s primary language. His statement came in response to RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi’s remarks that migrants in Mumbai are not required to learn Marathi.
Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Wednesday, Joshi stated that newcomers to the city do not need to learn Marathi and referred to Gujarati as the dominant language in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area.
In a sharp rebuttal, Thackeray remarked, “People from different regions come and settle in our state, but the language of Maharashtra is Marathi—just as Tamil is in Tamil Nadu and Kannada in Karnataka. The BJP’s ideology constantly seeks to undermine Maharashtra’s identity.”
Criticizing Joshi’s statement, he added, “Saying that Ghatkopar’s language is Gujarati is completely unacceptable. The language of Mumbai is Marathi. This government even halted the Marathi Bhasha Bhavan project in Mumbai because they want to insult Maharashtra and its linguistic heritage.”
On February 16, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reaffirmed the government’s commitment to preserving Marathi education, assuring that no Marathi school would be shut down.
Addressing the media, Fadnavis stated, “We have consistently instructed that no Marathi school should be closed. Additionally, we have mandated the teaching of Marathi in all schools, whether Marathi or Hindi medium. A system is being put in place to ensure strict implementation of this directive.”
The language debate in Maharashtra unfolds against the backdrop of an ongoing dispute between Tamil Nadu and the central government over the three-language policy. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has strongly opposed what he calls the “Hindi imposition” on the state.
In response, the BJP has launched a door-to-door campaign advocating for the three-language policy introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP).
