Reports said that workers of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), headed by Raj Thackeray, assaulted an employee of a popular supermarket in Mumbai as he did not converse in Marathi. The Versova, Andheri (West) based D ‘ Mart store was the place where the incident took place on Tuesday.
In the video, which is fast spreading its wings across social media, a store employee is captured by his camera telling the customer he will not speak in Marathi but in Hindi alone. Do what you want to do.” This outpouring of rage from MNS members who have been demanding the use of the Marathi language for some time now due to lack of promotion.
Following this, a group of MNS workers, led by the party’s Versova unit president Sandesh Desai, are said to have visited the store and confronted the employee. One of MNS workers is seen slapping a staff member when he declined to use Marathi in a video that surfaced online.
Since the footage has gone viral on social media, it has been a source of debate on the rights of language, cultural pride and proper behaviour in public spaces. Police officials say that after the incident, the store employee apologized for his comments and behaviour.
Police authorities have confirmed the incident and are looking at the video showing the matter from both sides before taking further action.
The MNS took a strong stand in encouraging the Marathi language and culture. In the past it has tried to introduce the concept to businesses and individuals in Maharashtra to make Marathi the preferred language to be used in day-to-day interactions. Conversations about regional identity, how language should or should not be imposed, and the acceptability of cultural respect for any individual’s freedom seems to have been rekindled by the incident.
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