Thackeray Reunion on Marathi Pride: Uddhav and Raj Thackeray to Lead Joint Protest Against ‘Hindi Imposition’
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray, will jointly lead a protest march in Mumbai on July 5. The unprecedented move aims to challenge the state government’s recent education policy, which they have labeled an “imposition of Hindi” and a “language emergency.”
The joint protest, a significant sign of a potential political reconciliation, will proceed from Girgaon Chowpatty to Azad Maidan. This development consolidates their opposition after both leaders had initially announced separate demonstrations. The protest targets the Devendra Fadnavis-led government’s decision to introduce Hindi as a “generally” taught third language for students in Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English medium schools.
Uddhav Thackeray, the former Chief Minister, was sharply critical of the BJP-led state government, accusing it of creating linguistic divisions. “The BJP is trying to create a divide among people on the basis of language. It is imposing a language emergency,” he stated, clarifying that his opposition is to the compulsion of Hindi, not the language itself.
Thackeray challenged the current administration to clear the air, stating that Chief Minister Fadnavis “can put a rest to all confusion around language imposition by declaring that Hindi will not be made compulsory in state schools.”
In response to the escalating row, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has maintained that the policy is not a mandate. He clarified that Marathi remains compulsory, and Hindi is being introduced as an optional third language, in line with the National Education Policy’s three-language formula.
The controversy stems from a government resolution (GR) issued last week. The order stipulates that Hindi will “generally” be the third language taught. However, it includes a provision that if a group of at least 20 students in a single grade wishes to study another Indian language, they can opt-out of Hindi. The order states that in such cases, a teacher will be appointed, or the language will be taught through online classes, a condition critics argue is designed to make opting out difficult.
This joint action by the Thackeray cousins, who parted ways politically nearly two decades ago, is being closely watched. It is seen not only as a defense of Marathi pride but also as a potential realignment in Maharashtra’s political landscape, especially with crucial civic body elections on the horizon. The coming together of the two saffron forces on a shared core issue has fueled intense speculation about their future political course.
