'This is your nation, do what you'...: A Marathi was found working in Haryana amid anti-north Indian sentiment in Maharashtra. Then, this happened
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'This is your nation, do what you'...: A Marathi was found working in Haryana amid anti-north Indian sentiment in Maharashtra. Then, this happened")
Screengrabs from the Thane slapping incident and the 'response video' from Haryana Photograph: (Screengrabs from the Thane slapping incident and the 'response video' from Haryana)
The video appears to be a response to an incident earlier this month in Maharashtra's Thane district, where seven workers of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) assaulted a sweet shop owner, Babulal Chaudhary, for not speaking Marathi.
A political controversy has been brewing in the western Indian state of Maharashtra after some attacks on North Indians over not speaking the Marathi language. Now, a video is going viral showing a Marathi man being 'caught' working in the northern state of Haryana. Here is what happened:
What happened when a Marathi man was found working in Haryana?
In the video, a man with the Instagram handle @notthatmanusharma approaches a Marathi, working at what appeared to be a farm in Haryana. He asks, "who is from Maharashtra? Call him." When asked where he is from, the Marathi says he hails from Nashik city in Maharashtra. "Speak in Haryanvi," demands the north Indian, and the Marathi says he doesn't know the language, which is a dialect of Hindi. "Then, how did you come here?," asks the north Indian. After a moment of tense silence, the north indian laughs and hugs the Marathi, saying, "if you don't work here, who will?"
"This is your nation. Do what you like," adds the north Indian. "This is India, Bharat."
The slapping incident in Maharashtra targeting North Indians. What happened?
The video, which could have been a planned shooting, came in apparent response to an incident earlier this month in Mira Bhayandar in Maharashtra's Thane district. Seven workers of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) assaulted a sweet shop owner, Babulal Chaudhary, for not speaking Marathi. The MNS workers entered 48-year-old Chaudhary’s Jodhpur Sweets shop asking for water. When Chaudhary’s staffer Bagharam, who is from Rajasthan, responded in Hindi, the MNS workers demanded that they speak Marathi. Chaudhary said “all languages are spoken in Maharashtra,” which provoked the MNS workers, who repeatedly slapped the north Indian.
What happened after the slapping incident in Thane?
Police detained the seven MNS workers involved in the Thane slapping incident. But they were released on bail later. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), condemned the violence and warned of police action.
But several MNS leaders like Sandeep Rane defended the MNS workers, describing the slap incident as a reaction to Chaudhary’s ‘arrogance’ and alleged insult to the Marathi language.
Hindi vs Marathi: The issue behind assaults on non-Marathi speaking people
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The Thane incident is an example of a broader campaign by MNS against what it calls insults to the Marathi language and culture. The MNS is agitating against what they deem as the imposition of Hindi in schools.
Anti-north Indian sentiment intensified after the Hindi language row
Part of the reason for MNS digging deep into its regionalist ideology is the upcoming civic elections.
MNS stands for Marathi pride and seeks preferential treatment for the local Marathi-speaking people.
In 2008, MNS workers clashed with Samajwadi Party supporters in Mumbai, reacting to what they called were provocative" displays by migrants from north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The violent incidents at the time catapulted MNS founder Raj Thackeray to prominence. He alleged that the migrants were undermining Maharashtra culture and taking away job opportunities from locals.
The political angle: MNS wants a comeback with Udhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena. And Hindi is a good alibi
Earlier this year, the BJP-led Maharashtra government proposed the introduction of Hindi as a third language in the states primary schools. It was opposed by erstwhile rivals MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT). Shiv Sena (UBT) is the faction led by Uddhav Thackeray, the son of Bal Thackeray, who founded Shiv Sena.After the protests, the BJP-led government was forced to roll back the Hindi policy.
Anti-Hindi agitation unites former rivals Raj and Uddhav Thackeray
After the Hindi language policy rollback, former rivals Raj and his cousin Uddhav Thackeray came together on the same stage for the first time in nearly two decades to mark the ‘Marathi Vijay Diwas’ or victory day.
The July 5 event at Mumbai’s Worli Dome was a signal of a likely alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS to garner Marathi votes ahead of the civic elections.
