Language, Longing and Belonging in Maharashtra

For a language to thrive, its sphere must be extended to practical use. Many who claim to be ardent supporters of Marathi often fail to recognise this

- VINAY SAHASRABUDDHE

The first and foremost is that the prestige of any language depends on whether its native speakers take pride in speaking it in public. Today, in Mumbai, many Marathi-speaking people routinely use either Hindi or English even while conversing with their Marathi-speaking friends.

One of the many reasons for this strange behaviour is that somewhere deep in their minds, there is a feeling that speaking in Hindi or English adds to their dignity, as against their own mother-tongue. The impact of this complex is so grave that most Marathi-medium schools in Mumbai are on the verge of extinction.