“Language Emergency in Maharashtra”: Uddhav Thackeray Accuses BJP of Hindi Imposition, Fadnavis Fires Back With Sharp Retort

Mumbai: Maharashtra has been plunged into a fierce linguistic and political face-off, with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray accusing the BJP of imposing a “language emergency” in the state and trying to divide citizens along linguistic lines. The remarks came amid rising tensions over the state government’s reported push to teach Hindi to students from Classes 1 to 5, even in Marathi and English medium schools.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the former Maharashtra Chief Minister lashed out at the BJP, saying,“The BJP is trying to create a divide among people based on language.”

Thackeray clarified that his party does not oppose Hindi or any language per se, but will resist any form of linguistic dominance in Maharashtra, a state deeply rooted in its Marathi identity.

“We don’t oppose or hate any language, but that doesn’t mean we will allow imposition of any language,” he declared.
“The ruling party is imposing a language emergency,” he added, sounding the alarm over what he sees as a systematic effort to elevate Hindi at the cost of Marathi.

The controversy comes as the BJP-led state government faces criticism over reported curriculum changes that would increase the presence of Hindi in early school education, triggering backlash from Marathi linguistic and cultural groups.

In a swift and pointed counter, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis fired back, accusing Thackeray of substituting substance with sarcasm, “All I want to say to Uddhav Thackeray is that Marathi has far richer figures of speech than just sarcasm. Using those would be far more effective.”

Fadnavis reinforced the BJP’s stance that no language is being imposed, stressing Marathi’s official status: “There’s no compulsion to speak Hindi, but there is a compulsion to speak Marathi. Hindi is optional.”

The war of words has intensified the political atmosphere in Maharashtra, turning language into a fresh battleground ahead of upcoming elections. While the BJP defends its multilingual approach as inclusive and optional, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) is framing it as an existential threat to Marathi culture and identity.