Marathi manoos should also own up to the decay of their mother tongue

A restaurant gets its signboard changed. File pic

The old diktat in new packaging that makes it compulsory to write the signs of shops and establishments in Marathi in a size bolder than any other language used has evoked, a strong response from shop owners, who have cited a court case they fought successfully against the order some years ago. They have vowed to fight their case further, amid threatening voices from political outfits that have been pushing for the compulsion. But, what has emerged on the sidelines of the issue is a vertical split in the Marathi thinkers, statesmen and activists over the compulsion. Some have blatantly supported the idea, while others have questioned not only the successive governments but also the Marathi population for downgrading their mother tongue to such a level that legal methods are used to implement its use where its applicability has always been under the scanner.

Like the Marathi proponents, the opponents have welcomed the decision and want the state language used wherever possible, but their support comes with a rider that makes a sensitive Marathi manoos to introspect. Pointed questions are being posed about the closure of thousands of Marathi medium schools and the lack of effort to offer the new generation to study Marathi. In Mumbai alone, the number of students in the Marathi medium schools has come down to one third of its strength 10 years ago. According to a report, there were 35,181 students in the academic year 2019-20, down from 1,02,214 in 2010-11.

Acclaimed theatre and television personality Sumeet Raghavan (don't go by his second name, he's more Marathi than those who claim to be sons of the soil) has been very vocal on the issue. He recently tweeted, "Is this going to help? No. Save Marathi schools, encourage Marathi parents to enrol their child in a Marathi school. All Marathi schools are turning into ‘English mediums'. Bombay ko Mumbai karne jaisa hai. Kripa karun motha vichar kara. Dukananchi naava Marathit lihun kaay honar? (It's like changing Bombay to Mumbai. Please think big. What will happen after the shop's signs are written in Marathi?"

Sumeet's equally talented actor wife Chinmayi, while talking to a language newspaper, said, "Shop signs must be in Marathi. But if the Marathi (medium) schools don't survive, we will not have people who can read signs placed on the roads, squares and shops. Some 130 Marathi medium schools in Mumbai have shut. The political parties have won elections using the Marathi agenda. Why don't they strengthen these schools?"

The regional news channels have been grinding the subject since the Maharashtra cabinet took a decision last week to expand the previous diktat to the small shops that employ 10 or less workers. This means now all shops will have to have the signs displayed prominently in Marathi (Devanagari script). Since the decision has come ahead of the civic polls, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which had launched an agitation in the past for Marathi signs, has entered the arena with a caution that other parties (Shiv Sena) should not claim credit for the decision. The MNS issued a veiled threat to the erring shops, saying, "Changing the signs will not be more expensive than changing the shop's glasses."
Author and academician Hari Narke, who is active in the Marathi movement for long, says the language started losing its base the day the middle class, the neo-middle class and the neo-rich abandoned it as a medium of education. "The lower crust of society followed the upper crust. Marathi schools shut because English has a reputation of its own, and people think that the education in English guarantees a job," he added, wanting to know the reason for Marathi language's diminishing value in the placement market. He said blaming the government for everything doesn't absolve the Marathi middle class of all charges. "The language perishes when it doesn't offer jobs. A 25-year state-level policy can enhance Marathi language's worth in the job market."

The churning of serious thoughts, views and counterviews have happened whenever the Marathi Asmita (pride) was put on the anvil. The Sena rode the plank successfully. The BJP used it even while keeping the non-Marathis in its good books. The MNS has made up its mind to rake it up again to counter the big brother. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress governments have also done their part in making the Marathi signs mandatory. But a bitter truth is that the parties that have governed Maharashtra after it was restructured on lingual basis have not succeeded in giving a widely spoken and written Marathi language, which has produced quality literature and added a colourful feather to the country's diverse crown, due recognition. And it is equally true that the governments' failure can be attributed to the majority population that did not really bother, unlike their counterparts down south, in West Bengal, even in the close neighbourhood of Gujarat, to understand the richness their mother tongue is endowed with.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore

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