Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan hosted by the Sahitya Parishad in New Delhi. PM Modi expressed his immense happiness at being able to accord the classical language status to Marathi Bhasha
Marathi literature has a very old tradition. In Maharashtra, since ancient times, the great Sant Dnyaneshwar’s Dnyaneshwari and Pasayadan, the greatest contribution to spirituality worked to develop the thought of inclusive well-being of humanity and welfare of the global society. At the same time, Sant Namdev’s Abhang work provided the source of social harmony that got a place in the Guruvaani (Gurbani) of the Punjabi society. Be it the Bhakti movement or the freedom movement, Marathi literature participated enthusiastically in all the periods. If we look at the time from Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak to Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a new picture of the creation of a creative society emerges. In the recent period, there has been a rich tradition of literature from poet Kusumagraj, Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre and P L Deshpande.
The viewpoint of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has always been clear about regional languages including Marathi. The second Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Shri Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar ji had put forth his views with great firmness in many sangh gatherings regarding Bharatiya languages. He was of the opinion that our culture has been continuing unbroken for thousands of years despite facing many storms because we never abandoned the languages that express our identity. He said that all our languages and dialects are like blooming flowers, from which the fragrance of our national culture flows. He compared the various languages of Bharat to the dazzling colours of the rainbow and described their internal unity as similar to the sun’s rays giving birth to the rainbow’s attire.
If we talk about Maharashtra, then the Sahitya Sammelan there has always been effective in social reconstruction. Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was organised this year in Delhi. The significance of organising this 98th Sahitya Sammelan in Delhi was primarily driven by the fact that long standing demand of Marathi community was fulfilled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3rd October 2024 by according Classical Language Status to Marathi language. This was a decades-old demand of the Marathis, which Modi ji has fulfilled. So it was very apt and thoughtful of the organisers to arrange Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Delhi and invite Prime Minister to inaugurate and express our heartfelt gratitude towards him.
Prime Minister, on this occasion, expressed his love and respect for the Marathi language and said that when I think about Marathi, it is very natural for me to remember the words of Sant Dnyaneshwar, ‘Majhya Marathichi bolu kautuke, Pari amrutatehi paijasi jinke’, meaning, Marathi language is sweeter than nectar. Therefore, you all are well aware of my love for Marathi language and Marathi culture. I am not as proficient in Marathi as you scholars, but I have constantly tried to speak Marathi, and to learn new Marathi words.’
He attributed his love for Marathi language to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. On this occasion, Modiji spoke heart touchingly while mentioning the 100 years journey of the Sangh. He expressed pride that the seed of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, sown by a Marathi speaking great man 100 years ago on the land of Maharashtra, is today celebrating its centenary year as a banyan tree. He emphasised that for the last 100 years, RSS has taken the great tradition and culture of Bharat from Vedas to Vivekananda to the new generation through its cultural efforts. Prime Minister Modi said that he is fortunate that RSS has inspired lakhs of people like him to live for the country. Crediting RSS for his introduction to Marathi language, the Prime Minister said that it was through RSS that he got the opportunity to connect with Marathi language and tradition. He highlighted that only a few months ago, Marathi has been given the status of classical language, which more than 12 crore Marathi speakers in Bharat and around the world had been waiting for, for decades. He called it a good fortune of his life that he got the opportunity to do this work.
Prime Minister Modi also expressed his expectations from the Sahitya Sammelan. Referring to the language discrimination, he said that many times when attempts are made to discriminate in the name of language, the shared heritage of our languages gives the right answer to it. Staying away from these misconceptions, enriching the languages, adopting them, is our collective responsibility. Therefore, today we are looking at all the languages of the country as mainstream languages. We are promoting education in all major Bharatiya languages including Marathi. Now the youth of Maharashtra will be able to easily pursue higher education, engineering and medical studies in Marathi. We have changed the mindset of ignoring talents due to not knowing English.
The ill effect pointed out by Modi ji is that despite Maharashtra being progressive, Sahitya Sammelans are not untouched by ideological exclusion. This was the reason that everyone from Veer Savarkar to Ramesh Patange had to bear the brunt of it. Modi ji clarified that if the society has to be made truly progressive, then the litterateurs and Sahitya Sammelans will have to end ideological untouchability. Sahitya Sammelan can play a leading role in this direction only when it takes the initiative to bring diverse views to the center of discussion. He emphasised that for the society and the nation to progress, we must allow various ideological view points to co-exist.
Dr Tara Bhawalkar, President of Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, also mentioned the important contribution of dialect and mother tongue in binding the society together and making it prosperous. In her opinion and rightfully so, in this era, the way the influence of new technology and artificial intelligence is increasing, there are many challenges before the society and Sahitya society to keep the languages in their original form and to develop them. The only way to deal with this is to promote the local dialect and keep the mother tongue firmly adopted.
The organising of Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Delhi was a proud moment for all of us. In this journey of the last over 100 years, Marathi Sahitya Sammelan has seen many ups and downs, but Marathi society has stood behind it like a rock. I am confident that Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Parishad and the organisers ‘Sarhad’ will take this even further and work towards fulfilling the expectations expressed at Sammelan. The discussions held in such events will play the role of a lighthouse in deciding the direction of the new generation. I congratulate ‘Sarhad’ & Sahitya Parishad, the organisers of the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
