In the Maharashtra state of India, the tensions have been around the language and identity for the past few weeks, which has recently turned into violence. In April this year, the Maharashtra government started to teach Hindi as the third language in government primary schools in the state. Earlier, these schools were taught in Marathi and English.
The Indian government has said that the new decision has been imposed as per the directive of the National Education Policy (NEP). NEP has made it compulsory to teach three languages.
On Friday, the BBC said the civil society and opposition leaders of Maharashtra expressed their anger against the new decision. Even the movement of the language has begun. They have accused the government of imposing Hindi.
Language is a very touching topic in India. Because after independence, many states were formed through linguistic divisions. The cultural identity and self -esteem of the people deeply associated with the local language. So many people see the initiative to impose Hindi as a threat.
The objection to the Hindi language, especially, is intense. Because it is basically the language of North and Central India. Therefore, the central government's Hindi promotion initiatives at various times have created doubts in non-Hindi-speaking states in South and West India. People from these regions think that their local culture and language will endanger. The fear has increased as immigration from Hindi -speaking states for employment in developed states including Maharashtra.
After the BJP came to power in the 21st, the tension of language-dependent politics increased. Top leaders of the BJP often debate by giving priority to Hindi. When the situation was heated, the BJP -led government of Maharashtra suspended the decision and formed a committee to review the matter. Yet the dispute did not stop.
Among these tensions, the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra, especially the richest city organization in India, will be held within a few days. As a result, political heat has increased. The ruler and the opposition are blaming each other as politically motivated.
However, the worry is that violent incidents are also taking place on language. In April, two women were attacked in the district of Maharashtra. Because they spoke in English with a Marathi speaker. At the same time, a security guard in Mumbai did not report Marathi. Last May, a couple did not pay the delivery boy for not speaking in Marathi. A recent viral video shows that a shopkeeper is being beaten for not saying Marathi.
Analysts think that language-based emotions can affect the next elections. However, many people think that this national politics will lose the confidence of the people in the long run.
Indian politics observer Prashant Dixit said, “People want real development, jobs and policy changes. In the name of language, violence increases division, which is not desirable in industrialized states like Maharashtra. '
