Two Senas, one Marathi plank: Language rule opens up a new battleground
As Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena enforces the rule through the Transport Minister, Uddhav’s party turns the issue into one of Marathi drivers’ livelihood.
The Transport Department has launched enforcement action against non-Marathi-speaking auto-rickshaw drivers who have failed to acquire proficiency in Marathi. (Express photo by Deepak Joshi) The Maharashtra government rule that auto and taxi drivers must know Marathi has opened up a new front in the political battle between the two Shiv Senas, and that too over an issue that has long been central to the party’s politics.
The Eknath Shinde-led Sena is enforcing the rule through Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is backing the need for drivers to know Marathi but has also raised Marathi auto drivers’ concerns about jobs and incomes.
The divide was visible on Monday. As a section of auto drivers blocked the Kandivali Link Road in the city and began a three-day protest against the language checks, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut wrote to Sarnaik, asking the government to reconsider its decision to allow companies such as Rapido, Ola, and Uber to run bike taxis. Raut said such services would hurt the earnings of Marathi auto drivers and urged the government not to “hit the stomachs of Marathi rickshaw drivers”.
Raut had backed the language requirement earlier. In April, he said that people who come to Maharashtra for work should learn Marathi and respect the local language. The issue for Uddhav’s party now is not whether Marathi should be spoken, but who can claim to speak for Marathi workers.
Shinde Sena has the rule to enforce
For the Shinde Sena, this is an issue it can act on from the government. The Transport Department began checks on August 20. Officials were told to test drivers through simple conversations about destinations, fares, routes, and other exchanges they would normally have with passengers. On the first day, 8,217 drivers were checked and 1,268 were served notices for failing to show the required working knowledge of Marathi.
Drivers who fail the test are being given a month to learn the language and appear for a test again. A second failure can lead to suspension for three months, with stronger action for repeat violations. Sarnaik has defended the rule and said drivers who deal with passengers should be able to communicate in Marathi. The government had also conducted a training programme before starting the checks.
The message from the Sena is clear: Marathi is not being left to speeches; it is being made part of the rules governing public transport.
This allows Shinde and his party to establish that they have not given up the Marathi cause. “The Shinde Sena has the government and the rule it is enforcing,” said a political observer. “The Uddhav Sena has the old political association with the Marathi plank and is trying to attach that issue to the livelihood of Marathi workers. The auto drivers’ protest has added another complication. The drivers are not only talking about language; they are talking about fines, training, income and the difficulty of passing a test after years on the road. The political question for the two Senas is therefore no longer simply who supports Marathi. It is who can claim to represent the Marathi manoos in everyday life- at the RTO counter, behind the auto wheel and in the fight for a livelihood.”
Raut shifts the argument
Raut is now trying to draw a line of his own. In his letter to Sarnaik, he referred to meeting Marathi-speaking auto drivers and said many young people depend on driving rickshaws to support their families. He questioned why the government was allowing bike taxis at the same time as it was tightening the rules for auto drivers.
His intervention allows the Uddhav Sena to put a familiar Marathi argument in economic terms: protecting Marathi people also means protecting their work.
Raut has also alleged that Rapido has business and financial links with some ministers and that the company has sponsored political and cultural programmes. Those allegations are part of his attack on the government.
Drivers ask for time
The auto unions are raising a different problem: they say they are ready to learn Marathi, but need more time and better access to training.
Shashank Rao, president of the Mumbai Autorickshaw-Taximen’s Union, has sought a three-month extension for drivers to complete the Marathi training, saying the available training centres were not enough for the size of the workforce.
At the protest on Monday, a protester said many older drivers such as him had little formal education and were finding it difficult to meet the requirement. “We are 55-60-year-olds. We have never been to a school. How can we speak Marathi? Had we been educated, we would have been sitting in an office.”
The checks have also led some drivers to stay off key routes, affecting the availability of autos and taxis in parts of Mumbai and the MMR.
Balancing act for BJP, Congress
The BJP, which is part of the government enforcing the rule, has another calculation. Its support base in Mumbai and other urban areas includes a large non-Marathi population.
Haji Arfat Sheikh, the president of the Maharashtra BJP Transport Cell, has sought another 100 days for non-Marathi-speaking drivers to complete their training. That position allows the government to back Marathi while asking for more time for drivers who are still learning it.
The Congress, too, has avoided opposing the idea of learning Marathi outright, while questioning strict action against drivers.
The issue therefore leaves both national parties trying to hold together two groups: Marathi voters who expect the state’s language to be respected, and non-Marathi workers and voters who make up a large part of Mumbai’s population.
Share
