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The ugly scenes in Maharashtra Assembly -- where legislators of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) slapped and [roughed up a Samajwadi Party legislator for taking the inaugral oath not in Marathi but in "national language" Hindi provide a lot of food for thought and are bound to keep the commentariat busy. Three perspectives:

First, Samar Halarnkar in the Hindustan Times:

The chattering classes of Mumbai’s high-rises hate and fear the Senas, ascribing to them a lunacy beyond understanding. But scratch many seemingly sensible Maharashtrians, and they will gradually talk of culture, tradition, language and the fear of being swamped by Mumbai’s great and growing diversity. Of course, they will insist, the way Raj is going about this is wrong, there must be no violence, but you know, what he says isn’t really wrong...

Next, Rajeev Dhavan in the Indian Express, like a good lawyer that he is, doesn't lose sight of the crux of the matter and has useful practical suggestions:

The correct course of action is for the Speaker to issue breach of privilege notices to those who directly participated in this breach, as well as those who conspired to make it happen. This means notices should go to Raj Thackeray to ask him of his complicity in the conspiracy. If he says he was not part of the conspiracy to disrupt the assembly, he would knock himself down a peg or two on this issue. If he admits his involvement, he must be punished along with the others, albeit by token suspension for the legislators and censure for the non-assembly conspirators. At this stage, to punish by imprisonment would make martyrs of such persons. But, issuing process of breach of privilege is a must.

Meanwhile, in the DNA, R Jagannathan, while not questioning Abu Azmi's constitutional right to take oath in Hindi, joins issue with the Hindi hegemonism that his supporters have adopted:

Speaking about Hindi as a national language is no different from speaking about Hinduism as India's official cultural expression. Hindi is a great language, but it is not any more national than Marathi or Kannada, or Bengali or Telugu. Ironically, it was left to the MNS to point out the obvious: that Hindi is just another regional language of India.

Constitutionally though, while there may not be a "national" language, Hindi indeed has been privileged, and as Dhavan points out:

There was always a Hindi version of the Constitution. But if there is any doubt, the 58th amendment mandates the president to publish an authoritative text of the Constitution and every constitutional amendment of it in Hindi (Article 394A). If someone wants to take their oath in Hindi, they are doing no more than following authoritative text of the Constitution itself!

Dhavan also comes to the heart of the matter in his usual no-nonsense style:

What is even more ironical is that even in the Maharashtra assembly, two BJP members took their oath in Sanskrit (Girish Bapat, Girish Mahajan). Congress members took their oath in Hindi (Amin Patel, Ramesh Singh Thakur) and English (Baba Siddique). It is said the Samajwadi Party MLA, Abu Asim Azmi, drew attention to himself and his choice of language. Suppose he did, so what?

TAGS: Hindi , Languages , Maharashtra , Maharashtra Navanirman Sena , Shiv Sena

POSTED BY Sundeep ON Nov 12, 2009 AT 04:33 IST

Comments :

HAVE YOUR SAY

Nov 17, 2009 08:35 AM 11	If casteist quotas for the rich SCs/STs/BCs and OBCs is perfectly right how can one blame the MNS for seeking Marathi quotas (using language instead of caste) for Maharashtra? Secondly when there was a tie in breaking the deadlock whether English or Hindi has to be the national language, the then President of India Rajendra Prasad cast(e)his vote for Hindi. This was unheard of as usually the presiding officers vote for the status quo and that is the universal principle. But a Hindi-speaking Prasad saw no shame in doing it and thereby depriving crores of Indians a fair chance of learning English. The issue had become politicised. For many Indians Hindi is as much a foreign language as English when seen through the prism of Hindi imposition. Initially Rajagopalachari too had supported Hindi in all primary schools in Tamil Nadu. Then he realized the perverted approach to imposing Hindi on others and publicly declaimed against Hindi saying “like everyone else I too have the right to correct myself. It was my misconception that I thought Hindi could be an unifying force which now seems wrong.” shakeel hyderabad, India
Nov 14, 2009 01:44 PM 10	By openly indulging in ugly acts of vandalism and violence the MNS is actually doing more harm to the cause of “Marathi Manoos”. The average Maharashtrian in places like Mumbai , Thane, Pune has some genuine grievances – The uncontrolled influx of people from under developed states in the North has deteriorated the quality of life, lower level jobs which were once taken for granted by lower middle class Maharashtrians are no longer available to them, every inch of pavement in Mumbai and Thane has been taken over by hawkers, all open spaces ment for parks , gardens, playgrounds have been encroached upon. The public transportation systems are terribly over burdened. Public hospitals like KEM, J.J & Sion etc which provided cheap healthcare are literally swamped, forcing even lower class Maharashtrians to depend upon costly private healthcare. Maharashtrians have been reduced to a minority in their own backyard, their political power too has deteriorated to the level that people who migrated just 20 years back now call the shots in most of the constituencies. But despite all of this the cause of Marathi Manoos is being openly ridiculed by the mainstream media, anyone who takes up their cause is being labeled parochial. No one wants to talk about the real causes behind the rising frustration of the average Mumbaikar. Everyone talks about the constitutional rights of the migrants, but no one wants to talk about their constituional duties. No one wants to talk about terrible misgovernance in certain states up north that is driving the people to become refugees and overrun places like Maharashtra which has atleast a semblance of governance. Its time Maharashtrians realise that they need to unite and form social institutions that will help them survive these challenging times. Supporting MNS is really not the answer, ensuring the rule of law is..probably.. Randhir mumbai, India
Nov 14, 2009 08:01 AM 9	I hope a lightning strikes Thackerys and all of them especially Raj Thackery die terribly ... First of all, they are like plague to the great city of Mumbai. I love Mumbai because the city is great. The women are treated wonderfully unlike Delhi which is a terrible place for women who are continuously harassed. Irrespective of what language people speak, Indians should learn to be tolerant and respect people regardless of their differences whether it is language or religion or color or creed. The impotent Congress Govt. have no guts to take on a goon like Raj and put him behind bars. VIvek Hyderabad, India
Nov 13, 2009 12:23 PM 8	--"and so on who deliberately refuse to talk in Marathi that is truly insulting." I guess this logic will hold up well in my State and City where the North and West Indian hordes refuse to speak Kannada. Its got to be Hindu arrogance. Or is it Hindutva arrogance ? Pet peeves are an endless source of entertainment. dev raya Bangalore, India
Nov 12, 2009 07:43 PM 7	See my take on this is (1) Abu Azmi a bonafide gangster in cohort with Dawood should not have made it a prestige issue and uttered those four words in Marathi (2) If one idiot ( abu azmi) refused to let his idiocy go then MNS should have expressed some kind of token boycott of his swearing in ceremony and should not have indulged in fisticuffs (3) Third idiot congress/NCP govt either should have let Abu Azmi know that he must utter those words in marathi and if not then they were aware of MNS's past record and should have arranged marshals in order to check this boruhaha which happened. But we all Know Raj Thackreey is Maharashtra's bhindrawale and his nonsense serves congress. In fact despite utetr failure of their government they got reelcted then thanks to MNS and hence they keep indulging this idiopt Raj Thackreye. Just to show that they are doign sthg abotu Raj Thackrey they take action when all the nonsense had already happened.. Reminds me of Munir Niyazi that pakistani shayar "Hamesha der kar deta hun main" because it srves my political purpose.. So we have got three idiots in thsi episode (1) Abu azmi (2) MNS Raj Thackrey (3) COngress/NCP govt. Anil Kumar Toronto, Canada
Nov 12, 2009 07:37 PM 6	Its ok for RSS wallahs not to salute the national flag,because they are the only patriots. fine delhi, India Wouldyou please care to emabroate this nonsense which RSS wala doesn;t salute the flag.. I have ben in RSS camp for years never anyone forbade me from doing that in fact it was taken as sort of duty to completely resing one self before nation national symbopl and national interest.. Anil Kumar Toronto, Canada
Nov 12, 2009 02:59 PM 5	Its ok for RSS wallahs not to salute the national flag,because they are the only patriots. fine delhi, India
Nov 12, 2009 01:51 PM 4	nagraj is really a naag have a venomous tongue hridyanand pandey new york, United States
Nov 12, 2009 12:05 PM 3	Allow me to state facts first: I am a non-Maharashtrian first generation migrant to Mumbai. Now for the opinion; I firmly believe that the local language and culture of your 'place of choice' where you have moved to 'from your place of birth' must be adopted by you as part of your 'move'. After all you have to make it your own as you become it's own. Your children(or theirs') are going to be born there. In that you honour and respect the place and the fact of your own action-your choice. That said, the current mood in Maharashtrians, specially regarding Mumbai, is born out of hubris. Similar hubris overtook Punjabis(specially Sikhs) sometime back. Bhindranwala rose in that environment. The real loss that Punjabis suffered thereafter,was the complete fall from the position of most loved , adored,prided on and respected community in the country. They have still not recovered. Marathis perhaps do not even have any such position as the Punjabis enjoyed, yet they are struck by hubris. Their loss could be more material. As one who is now a Maharashtrian, I find that prospect very unhappy. Atul Chandra mUMBAI, INDIA
Nov 12, 2009 10:38 AM 2	There is nothing such as "Muslim arrogance" that a few id***s like the person who mentioned. If talking in a language you are comfortable with & that which is acceptable to a nation at large is arrogance then you need help. The Bachchan family has never been heard speaking Marathi so to single out the Muslim actors shows your frame of mind.Fyi Salman is born to a Maharastrian lady & speaks better Marathi than most Marathis. Please stop the usage of words that hurt not only the general Muslim who is not a party to such shitty political agendas. Sajid Khan Mumbai, India
Nov 12, 2009 07:04 AM 1	It is typical Muslim arrogance not to learn Marathi,despite living in Mumbai all their lives.It is not only Abu Azmi,but their whole tribe like Javed Aktar,Shabana Azmi,Shah Rukh Khan and so on who deliberately refuse to talk in Marathi that is truly insulting.Then there is a whole legion of Hindi film folk who speak only in English despite making all their money from Hindi films. S.S.Nagaraj Bangalore, India

Nov 12, 2009 07:04 AM 1	It is typical Muslim arrogance not to learn Marathi,despite living in Mumbai all their lives.It is not only Abu Azmi,but their whole tribe like Javed Aktar,Shabana Azmi,Shah Rukh Khan and so on who deliberately refuse to talk in Marathi that is truly insulting.Then there is a whole legion of Hindi film folk who speak only in English despite making all their money from Hindi films. S.S.Nagaraj Bangalore, India
Nov 12, 2009 10:38 AM 2	There is nothing such as "Muslim arrogance" that a few id***s like the person who mentioned. If talking in a language you are comfortable with & that which is acceptable to a nation at large is arrogance then you need help. The Bachchan family has never been heard speaking Marathi so to single out the Muslim actors shows your frame of mind.Fyi Salman is born to a Maharastrian lady & speaks better Marathi than most Marathis. Please stop the usage of words that hurt not only the general Muslim who is not a party to such shitty political agendas. Sajid Khan Mumbai, India
Nov 12, 2009 12:05 PM 3	Allow me to state facts first: I am a non-Maharashtrian first generation migrant to Mumbai. Now for the opinion; I firmly believe that the local language and culture of your 'place of choice' where you have moved to 'from your place of birth' must be adopted by you as part of your 'move'. After all you have to make it your own as you become it's own. Your children(or theirs') are going to be born there. In that you honour and respect the place and the fact of your own action-your choice. That said, the current mood in Maharashtrians, specially regarding Mumbai, is born out of hubris. Similar hubris overtook Punjabis(specially Sikhs) sometime back. Bhindranwala rose in that environment. The real loss that Punjabis suffered thereafter,was the complete fall from the position of most loved , adored,prided on and respected community in the country. They have still not recovered. Marathis perhaps do not even have any such position as the Punjabis enjoyed, yet they are struck by hubris. Their loss could be more material. As one who is now a Maharashtrian, I find that prospect very unhappy. Atul Chandra mUMBAI, INDIA
Nov 12, 2009 01:51 PM 4	nagraj is really a naag have a venomous tongue hridyanand pandey new york, United States
Nov 12, 2009 02:59 PM 5	Its ok for RSS wallahs not to salute the national flag,because they are the only patriots. fine delhi, India
Nov 12, 2009 07:37 PM 6	Its ok for RSS wallahs not to salute the national flag,because they are the only patriots. fine delhi, India Wouldyou please care to emabroate this nonsense which RSS wala doesn;t salute the flag.. I have ben in RSS camp for years never anyone forbade me from doing that in fact it was taken as sort of duty to completely resing one self before nation national symbopl and national interest.. Anil Kumar Toronto, Canada
Nov 12, 2009 07:43 PM 7	See my take on this is (1) Abu Azmi a bonafide gangster in cohort with Dawood should not have made it a prestige issue and uttered those four words in Marathi (2) If one idiot ( abu azmi) refused to let his idiocy go then MNS should have expressed some kind of token boycott of his swearing in ceremony and should not have indulged in fisticuffs (3) Third idiot congress/NCP govt either should have let Abu Azmi know that he must utter those words in marathi and if not then they were aware of MNS's past record and should have arranged marshals in order to check this boruhaha which happened. But we all Know Raj Thackreey is Maharashtra's bhindrawale and his nonsense serves congress. In fact despite utetr failure of their government they got reelcted then thanks to MNS and hence they keep indulging this idiopt Raj Thackreye. Just to show that they are doign sthg abotu Raj Thackrey they take action when all the nonsense had already happened.. Reminds me of Munir Niyazi that pakistani shayar "Hamesha der kar deta hun main" because it srves my political purpose.. So we have got three idiots in thsi episode (1) Abu azmi (2) MNS Raj Thackrey (3) COngress/NCP govt. Anil Kumar Toronto, Canada
Nov 13, 2009 12:23 PM 8	--"and so on who deliberately refuse to talk in Marathi that is truly insulting." I guess this logic will hold up well in my State and City where the North and West Indian hordes refuse to speak Kannada. Its got to be Hindu arrogance. Or is it Hindutva arrogance ? Pet peeves are an endless source of entertainment. dev raya Bangalore, India
Nov 14, 2009 08:01 AM 9	I hope a lightning strikes Thackerys and all of them especially Raj Thackery die terribly ... First of all, they are like plague to the great city of Mumbai. I love Mumbai because the city is great. The women are treated wonderfully unlike Delhi which is a terrible place for women who are continuously harassed. Irrespective of what language people speak, Indians should learn to be tolerant and respect people regardless of their differences whether it is language or religion or color or creed. The impotent Congress Govt. have no guts to take on a goon like Raj and put him behind bars. VIvek Hyderabad, India
Nov 14, 2009 01:44 PM 10	By openly indulging in ugly acts of vandalism and violence the MNS is actually doing more harm to the cause of “Marathi Manoos”. The average Maharashtrian in places like Mumbai , Thane, Pune has some genuine grievances – The uncontrolled influx of people from under developed states in the North has deteriorated the quality of life, lower level jobs which were once taken for granted by lower middle class Maharashtrians are no longer available to them, every inch of pavement in Mumbai and Thane has been taken over by hawkers, all open spaces ment for parks , gardens, playgrounds have been encroached upon. The public transportation systems are terribly over burdened. Public hospitals like KEM, J.J & Sion etc which provided cheap healthcare are literally swamped, forcing even lower class Maharashtrians to depend upon costly private healthcare. Maharashtrians have been reduced to a minority in their own backyard, their political power too has deteriorated to the level that people who migrated just 20 years back now call the shots in most of the constituencies. But despite all of this the cause of Marathi Manoos is being openly ridiculed by the mainstream media, anyone who takes up their cause is being labeled parochial. No one wants to talk about the real causes behind the rising frustration of the average Mumbaikar. Everyone talks about the constitutional rights of the migrants, but no one wants to talk about their constituional duties. No one wants to talk about terrible misgovernance in certain states up north that is driving the people to become refugees and overrun places like Maharashtra which has atleast a semblance of governance. Its time Maharashtrians realise that they need to unite and form social institutions that will help them survive these challenging times. Supporting MNS is really not the answer, ensuring the rule of law is..probably.. Randhir mumbai, India
Nov 17, 2009 08:35 AM 11	If casteist quotas for the rich SCs/STs/BCs and OBCs is perfectly right how can one blame the MNS for seeking Marathi quotas (using language instead of caste) for Maharashtra? Secondly when there was a tie in breaking the deadlock whether English or Hindi has to be the national language, the then President of India Rajendra Prasad cast(e)his vote for Hindi. This was unheard of as usually the presiding officers vote for the status quo and that is the universal principle. But a Hindi-speaking Prasad saw no shame in doing it and thereby depriving crores of Indians a fair chance of learning English. The issue had become politicised. For many Indians Hindi is as much a foreign language as English when seen through the prism of Hindi imposition. Initially Rajagopalachari too had supported Hindi in all primary schools in Tamil Nadu. Then he realized the perverted approach to imposing Hindi on others and publicly declaimed against Hindi saying “like everyone else I too have the right to correct myself. It was my misconception that I thought Hindi could be an unifying force which now seems wrong.” shakeel hyderabad, India

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