Linguistic othering

Divisive cynical politics can threaten Maharashtra's position as one of India's biggest engine of growth

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ARATHI PRIDE HAS long been a fruitful political plank for the Shiv Sena, whose nativist roots are inseparable from the movement that led to the language-based creation of Maharashtra.

Yet, as civic polls return to the state after a hiatus, an ugly political row over language and attacks on Hindi speakers should be nipped in the bud. Nowhere is it more urgent than in Mumbai, where the Shiv Sena's breakaway group, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), has targeted Hindi-speaking people including a share market investor whose office was vandalised.

The recent row comes in the wake of a decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government in the state to introduce Hindi as a third language in schools. After a back and forth, the government tactically withdrew the resolution while forming a panel to recommend steps to implement the three-language formula in schools, a contentious issue that has drawn resistance in other states too.