Mumbai: A viral video that has surfaced on the internet shows a man driving a Range Rover, reportedly Gujarati, adamantly refusing to speak Marathi, defiantly proclaiming, "Main gujarati hoon, Marathi bolunga hi nahi" (I am Gujarati, I will not speak Marathi). The incident, which has no confirmed time or location, captures a man recording the video as he confronts the driver of a Range Rover.
"Marathit bol" (Speak in Marathi), the unseen person insists in the viral video. The driver, visibly frustrated, retorts with, "Main Gujarati hoon, Kya kar lega Tu? Jab tum saamne wale ko jaante nahi ho na," before adding a broader political assertion: "India mein Hindi hi chalega" (Only Hindi will work in India), and then pushing the camera away.
No official reports have confirmed any legal action taken by either party in the Range Rover video. The viral exchange mirrors a pattern of escalating linguistic friction across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Marathi Speaking Disputes Frequently Happening In Mumbai & Surrounding Region
This is not an isolated incident but the latest flashpoint in a series of highly publicised language disputes. Earlier this year, a seemingly minor seat dispute in a Mumbai local train's ladies' coach exploded into a language row, with a woman telling another commuter to "speak Marathi or get out." The incident, captured on video, showed the growing intolerance in public spaces.
The city has witnessed multiple instances of political party workers, often from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena (UBT), physically assaulting or forcing public apologies from street food vendors and small-scale traders who were unable to converse in Marathi. Targets have included a street food vendor in Thane and a fruit vendor in Mumbra.
The office of a city businessman was reportedly vandalised after he publicly stated his difficulty in speaking fluent Marathi, despite residing in Mumbai for decades. While Mumbai remains a cosmopolitan hub, these continuous incidents, often weaponised by political groups, highlight deep-seated tensions between the city's indigenous Marathi-speaking population and migrants.
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