Linguistic Polarisation Creeps In Maharashtra Politics Too

In the past few decades a very high degree of linguistic sentiment and pride has been witnessed, mainly in the states in the southern part of the country. We have seen in the past how people in the southern states of India came out on the streets and protested over the language issue and how the state politics were driven by it, but now this phenomenon is being witnessed in Maharashtra too. Some media brands call it a "language war". One is not sure if this phenomenon should be called a "war" as of now. But it is clear that what we are witnessing is some serious level of conflict or strife between communities divided along linguistic lines.

The trigger for all this was the Maharashtra government's resolution to bring in Hindi as a compulsory subject to be taught in schools from the first grade. This was red-flagged by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, or MNS, and that triggered a controversy which has now spilt onto the streets of Mumbai suburban areas, such as Mira-Bhayander, where a large number of migrants from the northern parts of the country live. Now questions are being asked whether all this is carefully orchestrated with an eye on the upcoming civic polls happening in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayander, Kalyan-Dombivli and other municipal corporation areas, where migrants from the Hindi belt live and work. The other prominent question being asked is: Who or which political parties or leaders may be the gainers and losers in all this?

Maharashtra has traditionally been a place that welcomed migrants. Unlike some states down south, Maharashtra has never opposed the entry of migrants, as this has been the most industrialised state, which needed large-scale human resources in various sectors, such as real estate, agriculture and the service sector. Millions of people migrated every year from various parts of the country to Mumbai, Pune and other cities in the state to build their careers. But of late, the conflict between the local Marathi-speaking population and migrants, who are mainly Hindi-speaking, seems to have increased. Political parties, such as Raj Thackeray's MNS, have been vocal about the rights of the Marathi-speaking population and jobs being taken away by so-called "outsiders". This is a conflict similar to the one seen in any other part of the world between the local population and outsiders.

But the recent surge in this conflict can be attributed to the Maharashtra government's decision to make Hindi mandatory in schools from the elementary level, giving rise to speculation about whether the conflict is a political design for creating linguistic polarisation. It is clear that the biggest gainer of this is Raj Thackeray's MNS, as it has been at the forefront of running the language-based agenda since 2006, when the party was formed. The MNS, which did rather poorly in the recent elections, seems to have found a new lease of life.

Sensing the widespread sentiment over this issue, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena also took the plunge and came out in support of the cause of the Marathi language. Recently, a joint event was held in central Mumbai, which saw the estranged Thackeray cousins come together on the stage amidst huge applause. There were emotional speeches by the cousins, and amidst slogan shouting, they announced that they would fight together for the cause of Marathi. However, within two days of this, doubts were being expressed by the regional media on whether the Thackeray cousins will politically unite or fight the upcoming polls separately. It is clear that the BJP-led Mahayuti has succeeded in empowering Raj Thackeray in all this by creating a sense of insecurity among the Marathi-speaking population, which is now likely to back Raj Thackeray more and cause a divide in the rival Uddhav Thackeray's vote bank! Apart from Raj Thackeray, the BJP is the biggest gainer.

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If there is one loser in all this, it is BJP's alliance partner-turned-competitor Eknath Shinde. It was Shinde's minister, Dada Bhuse, who, as education minister, brought the controversial GR on Hindi education, which had to be withdrawn some days ago. Shinde was seen staying quiet over the Marathi issue initially in the past few weeks, but as Raj Thackeray started gaining political ground, his minister, Pratap Sarnaik, was seen rushing to Mira-Bhayander to show support for the cause of Marathi in a last-ditch attempt to catch the "Marathi-Pride Bus". In all, it seems like the ruling party's attempt to bring in linguistic polarisation in Maharashtra has succeeded, and in the bargain, it has managed to damage its alliance, which was turning out to slowly become a rival. Ultimately, the BJP seems to be the gainer in this political game!

Rohit Chandavarkar is a senior journalist who has worked for 31 years with various leading newspaper brands and television channels in Mumbai and Pune.