Raj and Uddhav Thackeray reunite: The long history of language agitation in Maharashtra

Uddhav, leader of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Raj, of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, emphasised “Marathi Asmita” or Marathi pride and questioned the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government.

A central theme of the rally was the BJP allegedly undermining the Maharashtrian identity, be it through language or taking lucrative projects away from Mumbai to other states. Such ideas and rhetoric have a long history in the state and played a significant role in the creation of Maharashtra more than six decades ago. What explains their resurgence now?

The focus on Mumbai

At the rally, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said, “The imposition of Hindi was an experiment done by the BJP to gauge the pulse of the public. Their larger agenda is to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra.” Uddhav, who has previously claimed that the central BJP leadership has systematically undermined Mumbai, echoed the sentiment.

During the state BJP council meeting on July 1, Fadnavis had said, “Ahead of every election, there is a false campaign unleashed by our opponents, of a conspiracy to break Mumbai from Maharashtra. They stoke such emotive issues as they cannot counter our development work.” He added, “Mumbai was, is, and will remain an integral part of Maharashtra.”

To bolster their claims, Opposition parties have cited the recent relocations of key mega projects — including the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor joint venture and the Tata-Airbus C295 aircraft assembly plant — to the neighbouring Gujarat.

It has also been noted that the ambitious International Financial Services Centre project in Mumbai had reached an advanced stage, but was leapfrogged by the establishment of the rival GIFT city in Gujarat. These developments were termed examples of Gujarat’s upmanship over Maharashtra.

Roots of the rivalry

On May 1, 1960, Gujarat and Maharashtra were bifurcated from the state of Bombay after a long, bitter and bloody agitation over the linguistic issue. In Maharashtra, political stalwarts of the time rose above ideological differences to advocate for retaining Mumbai in the state, given its historical, cultural and commercial significance. They also argued that the majority of its residents were Marathi speakers.

At the time, Congress leaders at both the Centre and state levels, including Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, were not supportive of state reorganisation on a linguistic basis. They argued it would further lead to divisions in a country that had just gained independence, with the RSS also supporting their view.

However, the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, which gained huge traction in the 1950s among the masses, led to a rethink. With veteran communist and socialist leaders at the helm, it played a significant role in ensuring Mumbai became a part of Maharashtra. At least 106 people lost their lives in the agitation and police firing. Then Chief Minister Morarji Desai had to resign, and was replaced by then Congress leader Yashwantrao Chavan. The resignation of Union Cabinet Minister C D Deshmukh further gave the agitation renewed impetus.

Other states also saw similar linguistic campaigns during this period. Potti Sreeramulu led a fast-unto-death for the creation of Andhra Pradesh from what was then the state of Madras. Eventually, the linguistic basis for reorganisation of states was accepted.

The Marathi factor

Six years after the creation of Maharashtra, Bal Thackeray laid the foundation of the Shiv Sena — a party that claimed to fight for the rights of the Marathi manoos (human). Thackeray believed that injustice had been meted out against sons of the soil, especially in employment, and questioned the large number of South Indians in public sectors and banks through his fiery, and often divisive rhetoric. The idea caught the imagination of unemployed young people in the state, with slogans such as “Bajao pungi, hatao lungi!” (blow the Pungi instrument, throw out the South Indian). The movement saw electoral success early on, with some wins in civic polls.

As a result of changing migration patterns by the 1980s, the party embarked on an anti-North Indian campaign. This time, migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were blamed for unemployment among the locals.

At the time, the party’s position towards Gujaratis was more conciliatory. In the 2000s, Uddhav Thackeray took the initiative to reach out to Gujaratis, who constituted 17 per cent of the voter base in Mumbai. The party known for its slogans said, “Khao Jalebi, fafda, Uddhav Thackeray aapda! (Savour Jalebi, fafda, as Uddhav Thackeray is ours).”

Notably, Maharashtra and Karnataka have also had disputes over the inclusion of Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka. Political parties across Maharashtra have demanded areas such as Belgaum, Nippani, Karwar and Gulbarga. However, over the years, it has arguably failed to yield decisive electoral dividends. In comparison, Marathi has successfully been turned into an emotive political issue.

Rise of the BJP

For the last six decades, Marathi and Gujarati speakers have coexisted in Mumbai, and the city has people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds today.

However, cultural issues have often become the flashpoint for political contests. With the electoral gains that the ruling BJP has made across states and demographics since 2014, Maharashtra’s parties have invoked the Gujarat vs Maharashtra issue time and again. That PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah hail from Gujarat has frequently been invoked to allege unfairness.

With the BJP’s perception as a Hindu-Hindi dominance party, the perception of Hindi imposition has helped the Shiv Sena in the past. Raj said at the rally, “Fadnavis did what even Balasaheb Thackeray could not — he reunited us.” Uddhav also hinted at their alliance, saying, “We have come together now after many years to remain together.”

Bal Thackeray groomed his nephew Raj as his political heir in the 1990s, but eventually chose Uddhav to lead the party. In 2005, Raj quit the Sena and went on to launch the MNS in 2006.

The MNS has had limited political success, while the Shiv Sena has undergone a major split, with its Eknath Shinde faction now allied with the BJP. In such a scenario, the tried-and-tested Marathi manoos plank could be key to their revival. The union could be tested ahead of the elections for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Asia’s biggest and richest municipal corporation.