The language war in Maharashtra has once again started over not speaking Marathi by non-Maharashtrians. A video of a fierce argument between a man and a young woman at a roadside ice cream stall has emerged. The video starts with the man asking the woman if she knows Marathi, to which she responds by saying,"Nahi aata muje Marathi, Toh?"
The man then asks her to speak in Marathi, to which she says, she does not know how to to speak in Marathi. The man then asks her, "Why you don't know how to speak Marathi?" The woman's response continues to remain the same.
The man then asks the woman, "Where do you work?" To which she asked, "Why?" The man then asks, "What do you mean by why?" The man then asks her, "Why will you not speak in Marathi?"
"The young woman's response remained the same." The man then raised his voice and asked her,"Then why do you stay in Maharashtra?" The woman responded saying, "Meri marzi se rehti hu, mera khud ka ghar hai idhar," which roughly translates to, "I stay by my choice, I have my own house here."
The man then says, "Then leave Maharashtra." He then asks the woman, "Where is your native place?" The woman responded, saying, "Be it anywhere."
The man then continued to repeat the same demand, to which the woman in an aggressive tone responded, "I will not speak in Marathi, what will you do? I will speak in any language, its my tongue, its my wish," the woman said.
Netizens React
Netizens have reacted to the viral video. One of the users said, "Didi itni arrogance dikhane aur baat badhane se achha thk hai bolke nikal jana tha."
Another user said, "If we continue down this path of linguistic intolerance, we risk creating invisible borders within our own country. And honestly, do we really need more division in a country that already struggles with religious, caste, and political divides? words should unite, not divide."
Another user said, "Good to see India getting back to Normalcy."
The exact date and location of the video is not known.
