RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi wades into language row now, touches raw Marathi nerve

Joshi’s remarks ignited a political storm in a city where the Marathi language has long been a key symbol of cultural and political identity. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) slammed the RSS leader. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, attacked the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government, asking, “Do you endorse Bhayyaji Joshi’s statement?”

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP)’s MLA Rohit Pawar said, “The language of Mumbai is Marathi,”demanding that the Mahayuti spell out its stance on Joshi’s comments.

Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav raised the issue in the Assembly Thursday, seeking an explanation from the government.

Chief Minister Fadnavis said he has not heard Joshi’s statement, but added that the government’s stand is that Marathi is “must” in Mumbai and Maharashtra. “We respect other languages. But there is no compromise on Marathi as every person living in Maharashtra should know and learn Marathi,” he said.

As the row flared up, the RSS leader issued a video statement Thursday, saying that Marathi is Mumbai’s language and those coming from outside and speaking other languages should also understand and learn it. He said due to his Wednesday statement a “misunderstanding” has occurred.

“There is no question of Marathi not being the language of Mumbai. The language of Maharashtra is Marathi… the language of Mumbai is Marathi. Different languages are spoken in India. People speaking different languages live in Mumbai as well. So, it is a natural expectation that they should also come here and learn Marathi, understand Marathi and read Marathi,” Joshi said, adding that “My mother tongue is Marathi. But I also respect the existence of all languages.”

Mumbai’s linguistic diversity

Marathi has played a central role in shaping Mumbai’s politics and is considered an important marker of the state’s distinctiveness. Joshi’s remarks have drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition parties, especially as they come amid growing debate over the importance of Marathi in the state’s social and political life.
According to the Census figures, the number of people who identified Marathi as their mother tongue in Mumbai decreased by 2.64%, from 45.23 lakh in 2001 to 44.04 lakh in 2011. This decline has sparked concern about the preservation of Marathi in the face of growing linguistic diversity, fuelling the ongoing debate over the city’s cultural identity.

The population of Mumbai rose from 1.19 crore in 2001 to 1.24 crore in 2011, as per the Census data.

Mumbai is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in India, where a rich tapestry of languages has flourished over the past century.

Sociologists often link language closely with identity, and the rapid economic and demographic changes in Mumbai have gradually begun reshaping the city’s linguistic profile. As a result, Mumbai’s identity is slowly evolving into one that is predominantly Hindi-speaking, reflecting broader shifts in its cultural and social fabric.

While recent data on the origins of each Mumbaikar is limited, the 2011 Census provides insight into the linguistic shifts in the city. According to this Census report, the number of residents identifying Hindi as their mother tongue in Mumbai has grown by about 40%, from 25.88 lakh in 2001 to 35.98 lakh in 2011. This shift is also evident in the peripheral areas of Mumbai, with both Thane and Raigarh districts seeing an 80% increase in Hindi-speaking residents.

Express Illustration by Abhishek Mitra

The number of Gujarati speakers slightly declined from 14.34 lakh in 2001 to 14.28 lakh in 2011, while Urdu speakers registered a decrease of nearly 8%, falling from 16.87 lakh in 2001 to 14.59 lakh in 2011.

These demographic changes are not just impacting urban planning and governance but are also significantly influencing the political landscape of the city.

Pattern of migration in Mumbai

Mumbai, originally a thriving port city, saw significant growth in the 1900s with the rise of textile industries. By 1921, migrants accounted for nearly 84% of the city’s population, with most hailing from the former Bombay Presidency, including regions like Konkan, Western Maharashtra, parts of Gujarat, and neighbouring states like Goa. These migrants played a crucial role in establishing Mumbai as a commercial and industrial powerhouse.
However, in the last 40 years, the city has experienced a shift due to the gradual deindustrialisation and the closure of textile mills.

As Mumbai transitioned from an industrial hub to a service-oriented economy, migration patterns also evolved. The city increasingly attracted interstate migrants, particularly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, drawn by the demand for low-cost labor in the expanding service sector.

Ram B Bhagat from the Department of Migration and Urban Studies of International Institute of Population Sciences in his paper, titled “Population Change and Migration in Mumbai Metropolitan Region: Implications for Politics and Governance”, points out that the share of migrants from Maharashtra to Mumbai had declined from 41.6 % in 1961 to 37.4 % in 2001. At the same time the number of migrants from UP increased from 12% in 1961 to 24% in 2001, while the corresponding increase in the number of migrants from Bihar was even more steep — from 0.2 % to 3.5 per cent.

Many of the North Indian migrants reportedly took up jobs in the unorganised sector where the nature of jobs was erratic and the pay very low.

Demographic changes

Marathi speakers remain the largest ethnolinguistic group in Mumbai, followed by Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati speakers. However, recent data reveals a decline in the number of people who identify Marathi as their mother tongue.

The rise in the number of Hindi speakers is not confined to Mumbai itself. Housing constraints in the city have contributed to the gradual relocation of Mumbai’s Marathi-speaking population from the city’s core belt to its peripheral areas. Despite this migration, even these peripheral regions have seen a significant increase in Hindi-speaking residents.

In districts like Thane and Raigarh, where many long-time Mumbaikars have been displaced due to skyrocketing real estate prices and job losses, the Hindi-speaking population has surged by 80.45% in Thane and an astonishing 87% in Raigarh.