Language violence peaks in Maharashtra as MNS workers assault shopkeeper
Additionally, India Today has accessed Air India's compensation forms sent to the families of victims of the AI-171 plane crash. The forms ask for details about the victim's employment status and financial dependency of family members, triggering controversy. A UK-based law firm representing over 40 families alleges that Air India is coercing families into submitting financial disclosures, which the airline denies, calling the charges unsubstantiated and inaccurate. Air India states it has already paid interim relief to 47 families and has support staff assisting families. The controversy raises questions about the fairness of this practice and its impact on grieving families, with lawsuits seeking enhanced compensation from Air India and possibly Boeing expected to be filed in the coming days.
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Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
At 50, Urdu Academy faces uncertain future
It was April 20, 1975. Excitement filled Durbar Hall at Raj Bhavan, the governor's majestic, sea-facing residence in South Mumbai. A galaxy of stars from the city's literary firmament descended to witness a momentous event: the inauguration of the Maharashtra State Urdu Academy. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Marathi is my mother tongue. It runs in my veins. But I also take pride in the fact that I was born in an area where Urdu took root. I initially studied in Urdu. If I am accused of loving Urdu…so be it. There is a close bond between Marathi and Urdu. And I thought of establishing the Urdu Academy so that the two languages can be brought closer," declared then CM Shankarrao Chavan. Sharing the dais with him were then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Maharashtra Governor Ali Yavar Jung, Jammu and Kashmir CM Sheikh Abdullah, and minister-scholar Dr Rafiq Zakaria. Now, at 50, as the Maharashtra State Urdu Academy prepares to mark its golden jubilee, a few fondly recall the grand inaugural event. Noted linguist, scholar and retired Urdu professor Abdus Sattar Dalvi, 88, was perhaps the youngest among the 21-member inaugural board or committee of the Academy. "It was the fulfilment of a cherished dream of Urduwallas in the state—a promise made by both PM Indira Gandhi and Shankarrao Chavan," recalls Dalvi, who is now frail and battling old age-related illnesses at his Mira Road flat. "If we had Urdu giants like Ali Sardar Jafri, Krishan Chandar, Ismat Chughtai and Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, the Urdu Academy also boasted Marathi literary legends like Setu Madhavrao Pagdi, Shreepad Joshi and Vidyadhar Gokhale." If Urdu lovers were enthused to hear Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who came from the family of iconic poet Mirza Ghalib, they were surprised by Sheikh Abdullah, whose home state Jammu & Kashmir was then the only state with Urdu as its official language. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "I have planned to build guesthouses for writers and poets where they can stay and enjoy my beautiful state's convivial climate," Abdullah had said in his speech. We do not know if a guesthouse exclusively for writers and poets ever came up. What is certain and a bit worrying is the precarious present of the Urdu Academy. Located at the Old Custom House, a heritage building near the iconic Asiatic Society Library, the Urdu Academy is a shadow of its former self. Its cluttered and understaffed office faces another threat: eviction. "We have received a notice from the culture department which says it has to accommodate an Academy of a different language. We have written to the General Administration Department to allocate an alternative place," says the Academy's executive officer Shoeb Hashmi. With no committee in place since 2020, burreaucrats call the shots. Shocked by the Academy's imminent "homelessness", a furious Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh complained to minority development minister Dattatray Bharne. "Why should the Urdu Academy be moved out to make space for another Academy?" asks Shaikh. "If at all it is moved, a better office at a more prominent site must be given. The minister has promised to investigate it." Bharne told TOI: "I am not aware of any such notice. I am currently in my village in Pune district and will sort it out once I return." Former minority department minister Anees Ahmed is livid: "At a time when some justifiably demand the preservation of Marathi's pride, the Urdu Academy must function fully to bring Marathi and Urdu closer." Mahim Samaritan Mudassar Patel, who successfully advocated for the appointment of teachers at two Urdu teachers' training colleges, hopes "the chief minister will not let down a beautiful language like Urdu." As the Academy built on dreams of linguistic harmony turns 50, its supporters hope the institution won't be left without a roof over its head.
India Gazette
37 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"Bullying can be answered with bullying...": Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Raj Thackeray's remark
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 5 (ANI): Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday said that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray should tell his party workers that bullying common citizens is not right, adding that Devendra Fadnavis' government should take action against such people, and they should be punished. 'Love for Marathi can be understood, but the feeling of opposing the Hindi language is not right. Raj Thackeray should tell MNS workers that bullying is not right. Bullying can be answered with bullying. Beating someone is wrong. The Devendra Fadnavis government should take action against such people, and they should be punished,' Athawale told ANI. Earlier, at a joint rally alongside Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray advised his party workers to exercise restrain while dealing with citizens who refuse to speak Marathi, however, 'if someone shows useless drama' then he advised them to hit them below their eardrums. 'Be it Gujarati or anyone else here, must know Marathi, but there is no need to beat people for that if they don't speak Marathi. But if someone shows useless drama, you must hit below their eardrums. I tell you one more thing: if you beat someone, don't make a video of the incident. Let the person beaten up tell that he has been beaten up, you don't need to tell everyone that you have beaten someone,' he said. Athawale also claimed that the reunion of the Thackeray brothers would only cause an electoral loss to the Maha Vikas Aghadi. 'Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray have come together; this is a very good thing. This will benefit the Mahayuti more, because there will be a division in the Maha Aghadi. The Mahayuti will also get more than sixty per cent of Marathi votes in BMC elections...' he said. Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC said that the Thackeray brothers have reunited only for the political posturing and there is nothing significant about this development. 'After 20 years, the Thackeray brothers have come together, and good luck to them, but it is nothing but political posturing. Do understand that for every election where Uddhav Thackeray has fought, there has been an alliance that he's formed and broken. This is a characteristic of a chameleon... People feel betrayed because, for the sake of power, Uddhav Thackeray and these alliances have been anti-Hindu. Do understand that Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray had a philosophy and ideology. This is only convenience and posturing by two unreliable parties...' she said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said that he must be receiving the blessings of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray after the estranged Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, shared the public stage for the first time in nearly 20 years. The remarks of the Maharashtra Chief Minister came in response to Raj Thackeray's veiled attack on the former, where the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief stated, 'What Balasaheb could not do, Devendra Fadnavis did it'. 'I express my gratitude to Raj Thackeray that he gave me the credit for the coming together of both the brothers; I must be getting the blessings of Balasaheb Thackeray. I was told that there would be a victory rally, but there was also a speech of 'rudaali'. Not a single word was spoken about Marathi... The Mumbai Municipal Corporation was under their control for 25 years. Still, they did not do any work that could be shown,' Chief Minister said. 'We changed the face of Mumbai under the leadership of PM Modi. They are jealous of the work we did for Mumbai, but the public knows everything, and everyone is on our side,' he added. On the language row brewing up in the state, CM Fadnavis said that the ideology of Hindutva takes everyone. 'We are Marathi, we are proud of being Marathi, we are proud of the Marathi language, but at the same time, we are also Hindus; our Hindutva takes everyone along,' he said. Reacting to a viral video from Maharashtra's Thane district showing a shop owner being assaulted allegedly for not speaking in Marathi, Union Minister Chirag Paswan strongly condemned the incident. Speaking to reporters in Vaishali on Friday, Bihar, Paswan said, 'It is beyond my understanding how many divisions will be created among Indians -- sometimes in the name of region, sometimes language, religion, or caste.'While advocating for pride in one's mother tongue, the minister urged for sensitivity and mutual respect. (ANI)
India Gazette
38 minutes ago
- India Gazette
DMK's struggle against Hindi imposition swirling like storm of protest in Maharashtra: TN CM Stalin hails Thackerays
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 6 (ANI): Launching a scathing attack on the Centre, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said the 'storm of protest' against 'Hindi imposition' has transcended state boundaries as he hailed Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray for their 'victory rally' after the Maharashtra government's rollback of the three-language policy in the state. In a harsh post on social media platform X on Saturday, Stalin said the language rights struggle, waged by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, 'is swirling like a storm of protest in Maharashtra.' 'The language rights struggle, waged generation after generation by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the people of Tamil Nadu to defeat Hindi imposition, has now transcended state boundaries and is swirling like a storm of protest in Maharashtra,' CM Stalin said in a post in Tamil. Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, held a joint victory rally over the Maharashtra government's withdrawal of two Government Resolutions (GRs) implementing the three-language policy. 'The BJP, which acts lawlessly and anarchically by stating that funds will be allocated only if Hindi is taught as a third language in Tamil Nadu schools, has been forced to back down for the second time in Maharashtra, where they govern, due to fear of the people's uprising,' the CM. Referring to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief as 'brother', Stalin hailed Uddhav Thackeray's powerful oratory in the victory rally. The 'enthusiasm and powerful oratory' of the victory rally held today in Mumbai under the leadership of brother #UddhavThackeray against 'Hindi imposition fills us with immense excitement.' Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray held a joint victory rally after the Maharashtra government scrapped two Government Resolutions (GRs) to introduce Hindi as the third language. 'I know well that the Union government, which prioritizes the promotion of Hindi and Sanskrit full-time, has no answers to the questions raised by Mr. #RajThackeray: What is the third language taught in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan? and Hindi-speaking states are lagging behind--why are you imposing Hindi on the people of progressive non-Hindi-speaking states?,' read the post further. 'Will the Union government change its vindictive stance of releasing Rs 2,152 crore in funds under the integrated education scheme (Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan) only if Tamil Nadu accepts the new education policy that imposes Hindi and Sanskrit under the guise of the three-language policy? Will it immediately release the funds legally owed for the education of Tamil Nadu's schoolchildren?' Stalin asked. The 'struggle' waged by the people of Tamil Nadu against Hindi dominance is not only 'emotional but also intellectual! It is logical! It is for the protection of India's pluralistic culture! It is not driven by hatred!,' mentioned the post. Unaware of the history of numerous Indian languages being 'destroyed due to Hindi imposition' and failing to understand the agenda of 'turning India into the Hindi nation,' some naive individuals here parrot phrases like 'learning Hindi will get you jobs.' They must reform now. The 'uprising in Maharashtra will open their eyes of wisdom!' 'We will not allow the discrimination in fund allocation for Tamil or the arrogance of refusing to recognise the Keezhadi civilisation to continue. The BJP must atone for the betrayal it has committed against Tamil and Tamil Nadu. If not, Tamil Nadu will once again teach the BJP and its new allies a lesson they will never forget,' Stalin added.(ANI)
