Responding sharply to the Opposition’s ongoing political campaign around the Marathi language and identity, Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan said the Opposition is using Marathi purely as a political tool.
Chavan said that for the Bharatiya Janata Party, the word “Marathi” is not narrow or exclusionary. He compared it to a plural form in Marathi grammar, representing an inclusive and collective worldview. “Our understanding of Marathi reflects the spirit of ‘we and all of us’, which embraces the Marathi language, Marathi culture, and Marathi identity together,” he said.
He added that the BJP’s approach to Marathi is rooted in positivity. “Our expectation is to spread and promote Marathi language, literature, and culture through a constructive outlook,” Chavan asserted.
Taking a tough stand, Chavan cautioned the Opposition against politicising Marathi, saying this is not a game of poison and nectar. “The Opposition’s approach to Marathi is filled with negativity. There is no visible commitment to the universal philosophy of Sant Dnyaneshwar's ‘Vishwatmake Deva’,” he said, referring to the idea of universal humanism rooted in the Marathi spiritual tradition.
Chavan stressed that the BJP and the Marathi people are not two separate entities. “The ideological foundation laid by Marathi people themselves is the foundation of the BJP,” he said. Drawing inspiration from towering Marathi figures such as B. R. Ambedkar, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, and Balasaheb Thackeray, the BJP has consistently worked towards nation-building and social reform, he added.
Chavan said the BJP is committed not only to the progress of Maharashtra but also to the advancement of Marathi-speaking people across the world. “For the state’s development, for making citizens’ lives easier, and for nurturing a patriotic and culturally rooted generation, collective effort is essential,” he said.
He also pointed out that it was under the BJP’s initiative that Marathi received classical language status. “The Gudi Padwa processions now celebrated across the world were first conceptualised by BJP workers. This is what we mean by our ‘plural’ approach towards Marathi,” Chavan concluded.