Marathi Language Row: Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders held a protest on Sunday against the Maharashtra government's decision to introduce Hindi as a compulsory subject in schools from Class 1. The leaders burned a copy of the government resolution in a symbolic act at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Addressing the media, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “We have burnt the copies of the GR which means we don't accept it. We don't oppose Hindi but we will not allow its imposition. The government does not understand the reason behind the morcha. Injustice has been meted to Marathi. The question is how much pressure are you going to put on students."
Thackeray also announced that his party will hold a grand joint morcha with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on July 5 in Mumbai.
The Sunday protest saw the participation of opposition leaders including Congress state president Harshavardhan Sapkal, Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai, MNS leader Nitin Sardesai, Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray, Legislative Council Opposition Leader Ambadas Danve and leaders from Left and Socialist parties.
Former Maharashtra Aaditya Thackeray also shared visuals of the protest on social media. He accused the ruling BJP of trying to impose Hindi on Marathi-speaking children at an early age. “The language imposition will not be tolerated in Maharashtra,” Aaditya Thackeray said. “It is not just political. It is foolish to force such a burden on young children. Any new subject or language should be optional until after Class 5.” He added that the protest was aimed at rejecting the move to make three languages compulsory from the first standard. “We burned the government resolution today,” he said.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also spoke on the issue ahead of the planned protest march. “We are not against Hindi,” he said. “But we oppose its forced imposition. Students must have the freedom to choose their language. We are considering joining the protest.”