Tongues on Fire

It is perplexing to see linguistic tensions surface even in today's India when films from both Bollywood and Tollywood are doing roaring business all over the country, and the cuisines of both South and North have become equally popular across India

- KDP RAO

The ghost of linguistic unrest of the 60s seems to haunt the country once again. Unfortunately, the last few months have seen frequent incidents of violence in Maharashtra and Karnataka over the perceived domination of other languages over the regional languages, sparking a strong feeling of 'insiders' versus 'outsiders'.

In February, tensions mounted in the Belagavi region, known for its mixed Kannada and Marathi-speaking population, resulting in violent clashes and vandalism. In April, two women were assaulted in Thane for speaking English instead of Marathi. Last month, a sweet shop vendor in Mira Road, Mumbai was allegedly assaulted for not speaking in Marathi, and early this month, a migrant auto-rickshaw driver in Palghar was beaten for asserting that he would only speak in Hindi. Similarly, an investor's office was vandalised over his post on X that he would not learn Marathi despite living in Mumbai for 30 years.

Controversy erupted when a lady Bank Manager of SBI in the Chandapura branch in Bengaluru refused to speak Kannada, saying, "This is India, I won't speak Kannada." In 2023, the Kannada Signboard Protests turned violent, with vandals targeting establishments for not using Kannada prominently (at least 60 per cent of signage as mandated by law).

Language evolved as a medium of communication which helped the evolution of various social, religious, and political institutions in the world. A language signifies the unique socio-cultural identity of people in a geographical context with emotional overtones. Nevertheless, in spite of the numerous languages spoken in the world, political and economic institutions have transgressed linguistic boundaries as humans learnt to live in harmony with mutual respect and cooperation. Learning a language is an asset, for it widens one's perspective and opens the doors to various opportunities.