Maharashtra language row: What began as a seemingly minor dispute over a seat on a Mumbai local train quickly escalated into a heated language row when passengers turned aggressive over the use of Marathi. In the ladies’ coach earlier this week, a woman was caught on video shouting at another passenger, telling her to speak in Marathi if she wanted to live in Mumbai. The video of the confrontation soon went viral on social media.

The video shows women shouting at each other, which is neither uncommon nor strange to the commuters of the Mumbai local. One of the women shouted, “If you want to stay in our Mumbai, speak Marathi, otherwise get out,” as she fought for a seat.

Women appeared to form groups as they fought with each other over the seats. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) are investigating the incident, according to an NDTV report quoting officials.

A user who shared the video on social media wrote, “The issue of Marathi versus Hindi in Mumbai has now reached local trains.”

Maharashtra language row

This incident is neither isolated nor first among many; the language row in Maharashtra has always been prevalent. Earlier this month, however, Raj Thackeray’s MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) party workers were criticised for their violent enforcement of the language. They continuously lamented a shopkeeper for not speaking in Marathi earlier this month.

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Earlier this week, another video showing the party workers assaulting a Marwari shopkeeper in Mumbai drew a lot of flak. Comments about Marathis from the shopkeeper led to a violent brawl with the party workers. Outnumbered, he was asked to hold his ears and apologise as MNS members surrounded him.

On July 1, MNS workers slapped a street food vendor repeatedly for refusing to talk in Marathi. Meanwhile, a migrant auto-rickshaw driver in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, a businessman, was publicly attacked by supporters of the MNS and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

MNS workers also targeted the Mumbai office of Sushil Kedia, who had earlier declared he would not learn Marathi. Footage of the incident shows around five to six Raj Thackeray supporters hurling what appeared to be bricks at the premises. Although a security guard intervened to stop them, they continued until they had emptied their bags. Following the attack, Kedia issued an apology.