Linguistic chauvinism in Tamil Nadu is understandable. Tamilians have been sticking to their, what they call, “distinct” Dravidian identity and guarding it so aggressively. For over five decades, Tamil Nadu has remained politically different from the national political mainstream. It has voted only the Dravidian parties to power continuously since 1967.
Compared to that Maharashtra has always been part of the national political mainstream with marginal presence of the regional parties like the Shiv Sena or the Nationalist Congress party. Besides, Maharashtra has always been a bastion of 'Hindutva nationalism'. The Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar ‘Veer’ Savarkar comes from Maharashtra and is adored by the Maharashtrians as great son of the soil.
Tamilians are highly sensitive and emotional about their language, the ‘Tamil’. Yet they rarely resort to violence if someone does not speak the language. Tamilians believe in a distinct Dravidian identity of which Tamil language is the cornerstone. The Dravidian identity is strongly being pitched against the Hindutva identity by the Tamil politicians particularly those belonging to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam of MK Stalin. At one time, the Dravidian identity even assumed secessionist overtones during the anti-Hindi protests.
Compare this with Maharashtra. Unlike Tamil Nadu, most Maharashtrians are not ultra-fanatics about their language. And unlike the Tamilians, the Maharashtrians, so far, did not offer much resistance to studying Hindi. But not anymore. When the BJP led-Mahayuti alliance government in the state introduced the three-language formula, making study of Hindi compulsory along with English and Marathi, the Shiv Sena-UBT, launched a state-wide agitation. The government has since made Hindi an optional, instead of compulsory language for the primary classes.
It is the same Shiv Sena, founded by Bal Thackeray, a staunch votary of Hindutva. Till the recent past, even his son Uddhav was also a staunch supporter of Hindutva. Once he parted ways with the BJP and joined hands with the Congress, he tried to distance himself from the Hindutva ideology, although he still adores and idolises the Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar.
Recent incidents of violence orchestrated by Raj Thackeray’s MNS, are certainly an aberration for Maharashtra, although the MNS activists have often been found intimidating and assaulting non-Maharashtrians in the name of ‘Marathi language’ and the ‘Marathi Manus’. Just a few days ago, a shopkeeper was mercilessly beaten up, as he was not able to speak in Marathi but his native Marwari language.
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Violence in the name of language taking place in a place like Maharashtra, which prides itself in Hindutva is something of a paradox. Even the Shiv Sena, whose offshoot is the MNS, has always espoused the Hindutva cause. Like the Shiv Sena, MNS also idolises the Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar. Yet the MNS resorts to extreme linguistic chauvinism targeting the same people whom it should otherwise consider to be the part of the Hindutva. Shiv Sena-UBT has been the latest entrant in the linguistic feud, obviously searching for its political survival.
The MNS’ and Shiv Sena-UBT’s inherent ideological contradiction was exposed by the Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane, who challenged their leaders to attack those who speak Urdu instead of Marathi in Maharashtra, like those who have been speaking Hindi and are being assaulted by the MNS workers.
There is a reason behind Raj Thackrey and his MNS aggressive linguistic chauvinism as also of the Shiv Sena-UBT. Ever since Raj rebelled against his late uncle Bal Thackeray who bequeathed his political legacy to his son Uddhav, instead of him (Raj), he has been fighting for his political survival.
Since Uddhav Thackeray inherited the Shiv Sena and aligned with the BJP before he joined the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, Raj was left with little political space. The Maharashtra political space is already too crowded. There is the BJP, the Congress, two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party and the two factions of the Shiv Sena, leaving hardly any mainstream space for the MNS and its leader.
Given his stringent chauvinistic inclinations, both linguistic and religious, he is like the proverbial hot potato for every mainstream political party. Even the BJP did not seem to be comfortable to align with him, after it parted ways with the Uddhav-led Shiv Sena. Raj always tried to offer an olive branch to the BJP and would often praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After the BJP managed to break the Shiv Sena and the NCP and is now comfortably placed in the saddle, it hardly requires the services of someone like Raj Thackeray. This left no option for him, but to seek a rapprochement with his estranged cousin, Uddhav Thackeray. The two cousins are reportedly talking about a possible realignment for a few months now.
In the meanwhile, to ensure his political relevance, Raj has gone back to his old linguistic chauvinistic tactics of intimidating and bullying people in the name of Marathi language. Not to be left behind, the Shiv Sena-UBT has also joined the pro-Marathi campaign and opposed the three-language proposal, since withdrawn.
It is not only the linguistic chauvinism, the MNS activists have at times have attacked the non-Maharashtrians, particularly those from the north, accusing them of snatching away their jobs and resources. More the political space gets shrunk for the parties like MNS and the Shiv Sena-UBT, there is more likelihood of such stringent and aggressive chauvinistic and parochial overtures by those seeking political survival and in the process trying to create an issue, where there is none, at least in Maharashtra when it comes to teaching Hindi.
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