A migrant auto-rickshaw driver was allegedly assaulted by members of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) near Virar station in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, after a viral video showed him defiantly refusing to speak in Marathi.
The video that triggered the incident surfaced on social media a few days ago. In it, the driver can be seen in a heated argument with a local youth and repeatedly says, “Main Hindi bolunga, mujhe Marathi nahi aata hai” (I will speak Hindi, I don’t know Marathi). He also mentioned Bhojpuri and English in his defiant rant.
On Saturday, July 12, a group of party workers, including several women, tracked him down near Virar station. According to eyewitnesses and social media footage, the driver was slapped and thrashed in broad daylight. He was allegedly forced to apologise publicly to the youth involved in the earlier spat, to his sister, and to the people of Maharashtra for what was seen as an insult to the Marathi language and identity.
Uday Jadhav, Shiv Sena (UBT) Virar city chief, was reportedly present at the scene and later justified the assault.
“Anyone who insults the Marathi language or the Marathi manoos will get a reply in Shiv Sena style. We made him apologise,” he told reporters.
Another local party functionary echoed similar sentiments, claiming the driver had been “taught a befitting lesson.”
Despite the widespread circulation of videos showing the assault, no FIR had been registered as of Sunday evening. A senior police official confirmed that while they were aware of the incident and had seen the video, no formal complaint had been filed by the victim or any witness.
“We are verifying facts and awaiting a complaint. Unless one is filed, we cannot proceed with legal action,” a Palghar police officer said.
This assault is the latest in a series of language-related confrontations in Maharashtra, where tensions have flared between local political groups and Hindi-speaking migrants. On July 1, MNS workers in Thane were arrested after they slapped a street food vendor who refused to speak in Marathi. That case also drew public outrage and resulted in the arrest of workers from MNS, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).
The incident has once again reignited the debate over linguistic chauvinism and migrant rights in Maharashtra, with calls growing louder for political leaders to dial down the rhetoric and prevent further mob-style enforcements of language loyalty.
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