In yet another flashpoint in Maharashtra’s growing language conflict, workers of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) stormed the Union Bank of India’s Seminary Hills branch in Nagpur on July 16, after bank officials allegedly refused to process an insurance claim because the attached FIR was written in Marathi.
The issue emerged following the tragic death of a young man named Yogesh Bopche. In the aftermath, his grieving family submitted the required documents, including a First Information Report (FIR) filed with the local police, to claim insurance benefits. To their shock, the bank officials refused to accept the FIR, reportedly on the grounds that it was not in Hindi.
According to the family, the bank insisted that the FIR had to be translated into Hindi, as the insurance company’s headquarters is located in Kolkata, where, the bank claimed, Marathi was not understood. The denial of the claim, they said, added to their anguish during a time of mourning.
Outraged by the bank’s rejection, the family contacted local MNS leaders, who soon arrived at the branch with a large group of party workers. The protest quickly turned aggressive, with slogans raised, tempers flaring, and alleged heated arguments exchanged between MNS cadres and bank officials.
Nagpur, Maharashtra: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers staged a protest outside Union Bank over a demand for a Hindi-translated FIR for an accident insurance claim linked to deceased youth Yogesh Bopche’s account. The bank cited language issues with insurer. After the… pic.twitter.com/Rglxo9ndAT
— IANS (@ians_india) July 16, 2025
Videos from the scene, now circulating widely on social media, show MNS workers confronting bank staff and chanting in favour of Marathi language rights. No physical violence has been reported so far, but the protest created a major disruption in banking operations for several hours.
Bank officials, in response, stated that the demand for Hindi translation is part of their standard operating procedure. “The FIR must be understood by the processing office. Since the insurance processing team is based in Kolkata, we usually request Hindi or English translations of regional-language FIRs,” said a bank spokesperson to India Today.
However, the explanation has done little to calm the political storm. MNS leaders maintain that the incident is part of a larger pattern of linguistic discrimination against Marathi speakers in their own state. “This is an insult to the Marathi language. In Maharashtra, if banks and institutions don’t respect Marathi, they will face resistance,” warned a local MNS leader at the site of the protest.
Ongoing Marathi-Hindi Tensions
The Nagpur episode adds to a growing list of confrontations in Maharashtra over the imposition of Hindi and the perceived marginalisation of Marathi in public life.
Just last week, an auto-rickshaw driver in Palghar was publicly assaulted by alleged MNS and Uddhav Sena supporters for not speaking in Marathi. A video of the altercation at Virar station went viral, showing the driver, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh, saying, “I will only speak Hindi,” when asked to use Marathi.
Earlier this month, MNS workers reportedly vandalised the office of businessman Sushil Kedia, who had openly challenged Raj Thackeray’s demand that all non-Maharashtrians living in the state must learn and speak Marathi. Stones were hurled and property was damaged in what appeared to be a targeted act of intimidation.
In another disturbing incident, a shopkeeper in Mumbai’s Mira Road was beaten after allegedly refusing to converse in Marathi with customers, further fuelling the linguistic divide.
Political Fallout
The latest incident has prompted fresh criticism of the BJP-led Maharashtra government, with both Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray accusing it of promoting Hindi at the expense of Marathi culture. “If this continues, we will see a dangerous erosion of our linguistic identity,” Uddhav said at a recent rally.
Raj Thackeray, whose party has built much of its political brand around championing Marathi pride, has doubled down in recent weeks, warning institutions and businesses that “any insult to Marathi won’t be tolerated.”
The Union Bank of India has not yet issued an official press release on the matter.
As tensions continue to simmer, this incident is likely to have wider ramifications across Maharashtra, especially in urban areas like Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, where linguistic sensitivities often intersect with identity politics and migration debates.
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