Journalism of Courage
Air India passenger allegedly threatened mid-air for not speaking Marathi: ‘Mumbai utariye aapko badtameezi dikhate hain’
The passenger, Mahi Khan, claimed that a fellow traveller on his Kolkata-Mumbai flight on October 23 threatened him because he didn’t converse in Marathi.
When Khan told the woman he doesn’t speak the language, she refused to share her name and allegedly grew more aggressive
A fresh debate over language intolerance has surfaced online, this time, not on the streets, but thousands of feet above the ground. A recent video from an Air India flight has gone viral after a passenger alleged he was harassed mid-air for not speaking Marathi.
The passenger, Mahi Khan, claimed that a fellow traveller on his Kolkata-Mumbai flight on October 23 confronted and even threatened him because he didn’t converse in Marathi. Sharing a video of the exchange on Instagram, Khan showed a woman insisting, “If you’re going to Mumbai, you should know Marathi.”
In the clip, Khan can be heard responding politely, “You’re telling me that I need to speak in Marathi?” to which the woman doubled down with a “Yes.” When he told her he doesn’t speak the language, she refused to share her name and allegedly grew more aggressive. Khan said that when he sought help from the cabin crew, the woman told him, “Get down at Mumbai, I’ll show you what badtameezi (misbehaviour) is.”
Watch the video:
View this post on Instagram
Posting about the incident online, Khan wrote, “Speak Marathi or leave Mumbai. That’s what this lady told me on my Air India flight AI676 today, before threatening me for saying ‘I don’t understand Marathi’.” He tagged Air India in his post, urging the airline to act against such passengers: “These people should be banned. No passenger should feel unsafe or humiliated for simply speaking a different language.”
The controversy grew further after viewers noticed that the woman appeared to be wearing a Hyundai-branded shirt. Several users tagged the carmaker, demanding accountability. “@hyundaiindia we need a public apology. This is a question of your brand integrity,” one user wrote, while another commented, “What kind of people are working for you??? Please take necessary action!”
However, many also pointed out that such behaviour doesn’t reflect Maharashtrian values. One user commented, “We are Maharashtrian and this is not our culture. It’s totally wrong to force someone to speak Marathi. India is known for its diversity, just because someone is flying to Mumbai doesn’t mean they must speak Marathi.”
Others lamented how language, meant to connect people, is being used to divide. “Language was meant to be a bridge between people, not a wall that divides them,” read one comment. Another summed up the public sentiment: “This is absolutely disgusting behaviour. It’s people like her who are hell-bent on dividing our country. This person needs to be held accountable.”
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