Uddhav, Raj Thackeray Protest Against Hindi ‘Imposition’ in Maharashtra, Drop Hints of an Alliance
The Wire Staff
Mumbai: In the past few months, cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have amply dropped hints of their intentions to “unite” as one political force. Though the specifics of this alliance remain unclear, both have announced grand protests on July 5 and July 7 respectively, in separate press meets.
The two cousins are speaking in unison against the state government's decision to introduce Hindi as part of the new three-language policy for classes 1-5. Uddhav Thackeray has labelled this a “Language Emergency” in the state.
महत्त्वाचे:
॰ हिंदी सक्ती सरकारी निर्णय,फडणवीसी आदेशाची होळी करण्याच्या आंदोलनात शिवसेना पक्ष प्रमुख उद्धव ठाकरे उपस्थित राहतील (रवि. ३ वा.आझाद मैदान)
॰ ५ जुलै मराठी एकजूट मोर्चा तयारीसाठी शाखा प्रमुखांची बैठक ,शिवसेना पक्षप्रमुख
मार्गदर्शन करणार.(रवी:५ वाजता शिवसेना भवन) pic.twitter.com/Hwl25bfLX9— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) June 28, 2025
On Friday (June 27), Shiv Sena (UBT) party's Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut announced a “united march” against the imposed Hindi language. He used photos of the Thackeray cousins with Bal Thackeray as the backdrop to convey this message on X. He has since shared several posts on his social media handle, each featuring the two brothers together.
महाराष्ट्रतील शाळांत हिंदी सक्ती विरोधात एकच आणि एकत्र मोर्चा निघेल!
जय महाराष्ट्र! pic.twitter.com/A8ATq2ra0k— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) June 27, 2025
This marks the first time in nearly 20 years that the two have united for the “Marathi cause” – a core issue of Shiv Sena politics. Although Raj Thackeray formed the Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena in 2006, he has consistently advocated for a state language. In fact, the party in 2006 had launched a tirade against north Indians in Maharashtra and Raj Thackeray had staunchly advocated for jobs only for the “insiders” in the state.
Raj Thackeray’s party plans a rally from Girgaum Chowpatty to Azad Maidan. He intends to engage leaders from various political parties and convince artists and writers to join the effort to “save Marathi.”
“There will be no flag. It will be a rally of Marathi people, led by them. I will speak to litterateurs, parents and students, asking them to join. The government should know what Maharashtra wants. Maharashtra should show its full strength. I will also speak to other political parties,” he said, adding that introducing Hindi is part of a “larger conspiracy” to diminish Marathi’s importance in Maharashtra. Uddhav called this move an “ulterior motive” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to impose a “one-party, one-ideology rule in the country.”
Linguistic struggles are not new to Maharashtra. The Samyukta Maharashtra Movement in the mid-1950s fought for an independent Maharashtra state for Marathi speakers, and the issue has stirred state politics for over seven decades.
After the Thackeray brothers announced their protests, the BJP rushed to defend the government’s decision. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, a long-time advocate for Hindi, said, “Hindi is optional and Marathi compulsory.” “Basically, students can learn any Indian language,” he added. He also argued that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had ensured that Marathi be elevated as a “classical language” and that the BJP was not anti-Marathi.
On April 16, 2025, Maharashtra’s School Education Department issued a Government Resolution (GR) directing schools to teach Hindi as a third language from classes 1-5 in Marathi and English medium schools, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This move to introduce three languages at a young age has been criticised as unscientific by many literary writers.
Also read: Language Shaming and the Avoidable Burden of the Three-Language Formula
Initially, the language was to be compulsory, but after strong opposition, Fadnavis clarified it was optional within the three-language policy. On June 17, a revised GR stated, “Hindi will generally be the third language in Marathi- and English-medium schools from classes 1 to 5.” This came with a condition that students could opt for another language if at least 20 students choose it and a separate teacher is appointed, a requirement seen as a roundabout way to impose Hindi.
Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal accused the government of enforcing the “RSS agenda” on the state. "This is not merely about a language policy. The BJP-RSS agenda is to erase all other languages and impose Hindi hegemony across the nation. But we will not allow Marathi to be throttled. This deceitful design will be defeated. We respect Hindi as a language, but coercion is unacceptable. Marathi is not just our language. It is our identity and way of life," Sapkal told reporters. Earlier Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Chandra Pawar) faction had also expressed its concern over the BJP’s decision and decided to stand with Uddhav Thackeray.
Just ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other municipal corporation elections, which have not taken place for close to three years in the state, the linguistic pride is expected to become a moot issue in the civic elections.
The BJP is the largest party in the tri-party Mahayuti government. While the other two parties – Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) faction and NCP (Ajit Pawar) – have not aggressively put forward their stands, they have expressed their discomfort with the decision in their own ways.
Speaking to media in Mumbai, Shinde said that at the Mahayuti meeting it was decided that the government would consult all those opposing the move and that the word 'mandatory' has already been dropped and should not be a matter of concern any more. “This is a government of the common people, a democratic government. Therefore, nothing will be imposed forcefully,” he claimed.
Ajit Pawar, on the other hand, has been more explicit in his stand. Opposing his own Mahayuti government, he said: “In the tender age, we should not put an additional burden on the students with Hindi as a third language to learn. Students should learn reading and writing in Marathi from class I in school, while Hindi should be taught from class V.”
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