Navi Mumbai: A video circulating on social media platform X has sparked a fresh controversy over linguistic discrimination in Maharashtra. In the clip, reportedly filmed inside a Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) office, a Muslim woman is allegedly told to speak only in Marathi by a civic official, prompting backlash and calls for accountability.
The woman, who appears to be visiting the office for civic-related work, is seen being interrupted mid-conversation and allegedly instructed to converse in Marathi instead of another language, presumably Hindi. The incident took a sharp turn when a fellow Muslim man, present at the scene, objected to the official’s behaviour and challenged the language imposition.
The video, captioned "Linguistic fanaticism is on the rise — now in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, where a Muslim woman was allegedly told to speak only in Marathi but a fellow Muslim man showed the Marathi official mirror. Will Raj Thackeray & team demand the same from them, or does this rule apply selectively for Hindus?", has triggered political and social debates online.
While the veracity of the video and context surrounding the incident are yet to be officially confirmed, it has reignited discussion over linguistic chauvinism in public offices, a long-standing issue in Maharashtra’s socio-political landscape.
Political Reactions Awaited
As of now, there has been no official statement from the NMMC regarding the incident. Social media users, however, are calling on political leaders, especially Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, known for advocating Marathi language usage, to clarify their stance on such alleged double standards.
The post has drawn mixed reactions, with some supporting the need to preserve regional language identity in civic spaces, while others decry the imposition as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
