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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

Static Warfare

Maharashtra’s politics has long resembled a murky theatrical production, but its latest act has descended into farce. A purported audio recording released by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, allegedly discussing a staggering Rs. 500-crore payment routed to him through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has plunged the ruling Mahayuti into fresh turmoil. While the recording’s authenticity remains unverified, the political fallout has...

Static Warfare

Maharashtra’s politics has long resembled a murky theatrical production, but its latest act has descended into farce. A purported audio recording released by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, allegedly discussing a staggering Rs. 500-crore payment routed to him through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has plunged the ruling Mahayuti into fresh turmoil. While the recording’s authenticity remains unverified, the political fallout has already exposed the fissures beneath the coalition’s carefully cultivated façade of unity. The first imperative is to establish the facts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a forensic examination of the recording, including the identities of the speakers and the circumstances in which it was made. The investigation must go beyond determining whether the audio has been manipulated. Its provenance, completeness, context and circulation must also be established. The allegations are extraordinary. Jarange claims that the purported conversation points to efforts to blunt his influence ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, when his agitation for Maratha reservation had become a significant political force. The recording allegedly refers to Rs. 500 crore being delivered through Shrikant Shinde. Both Eknath Shinde and his son have rejected the allegations, with the latter responding sarcastically that the money never reached him. Jarange, for his part, has denied receiving the sum and demanded an investigation. The recording has surfaced nearly two years after the alleged conversation, reportedly dating to October 2024. Fadnavis has himself questioned why it has emerged now and who stands to benefit. The allegations have become a test of trust within the Mahayuti itself. The BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena remain partners in government, but their relationship is hardly free of friction. Shinde’s transition from chief minister to deputy chief minister after the 2024 Assembly election underscored the BJP’s ascendancy within the alliance. The latest controversy has revived questions about whether competing ambitions and suspicions are undermining the partnership. The danger lies in the ease with which political intrigue can displace governance. An allegation involving Rs. 500 crore is not a routine exchange of partisan accusations. If substantiated, it would raise grave questions about the use of money to influence a social movement and electoral outcomes. The Maratha reservation agitation has had profound consequences for Maharashtra’s social equilibrium. To reduce such a movement to an instrument of electoral management, if that is what occurred, would be a serious indictment of the political establishment. There is a further question that Maharashtra’s political class must confront: why does every major public controversy so quickly become a contest over factional survival? The state’s politics has grown increasingly transactional, shaped by shifting loyalties and the compulsions of coalition management. The government must therefore ensure that the inquiry is independent in substance, not merely forensic in name.

Lingua Pragmatica

Correspondent
Mar 19, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Mar 20, 2025

As Southern leaders like M.K. Stalin rage against Hindi, Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu offers a model of pragmatism over parochialism.

Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh

Amid the cacophony of opposition in southern states to Hindi, Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu has taken a markedly pragmatic stance by remarking recently in the state Assembly that there was no harm in learning other languages. Hindi, Naidu noted, was useful for communication across India, particularly in political and commercial hubs like Delhi. His remarks, though avoiding explicit mention of the NEP, were widely seen as an endorsement of multilingualism and a rebuke to the linguistic chauvinism that has gripped parts of the South.


Few issues in India stir political passions quite like language. It is not merely a means of communication but a marker of identity, a relic of colonial resistance, and a source of political mobilization. In the southern states, where anti-Hindi sentiment has long been entrenched, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and its three-language formula have reignited old tensions. No state embodies this defiance more than Tamil Nadu, where the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by M.K. Stalin has framed the policy as an assault on its linguistic autonomy.


Naidu’s words, welcomed by his ally and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, mark a sharp contrast with the DMK’s position. Tamil Nadu’s hostility towards Hindi dates back to the 1930s, when C. Rajagopalachari’s attempt to introduce it in schools met with fierce resistance. The anti-Hindi agitations of the 1960s cemented the DMK’s ideological stance, with its first Chief Minister, C.N. Annadurai, famously warning that Hindi imposition could push Tamil Nadu towards secession.


The question, however, is whether this rigid opposition serves Tamil Nadu’s interests. While Stalin, with an eye to the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, has been relentlessly portraying Hindi as a threat to his state’s regional identity, Naidu, a partner of the BJP-led Centre, is framing it as a tool for economic mobility. His argument is not that Hindi should replace Telugu or English but that it offers a competitive advantage.


The economic case for multilingualism is compelling. Indians who speak multiple languages tend to have better job prospects, higher earnings and greater geographic mobility. Andhra Pradesh’s Telugu-speaking diaspora is a case in point. Telugus make up a significant proportion of Indian-origin professionals in the United States, the Gulf, and Southeast Asia as Naidu pointed out, hinting that this success story was built not on linguistic rigidity but on adaptability.


In a country where inter-state migration is rising and where Hindi remains the most widely spoken language, refusing to learn it amounts to self-imposed isolation. Tamil Nadu’s approach, by contrast, risks limiting its youth. The DMK government has refused to implement the three-language policy, keeping schools strictly bilingual with Tamil and English. Its justification that Hindi is not necessary for global success could be true in a narrow sense but ignores the domestic context. If Tamil filmmakers can dub their movies into Hindi to expand their audience, why should Tamil students be denied access to the language that could open more doors for them within India?


The DMK has accused successive central governments, particularly under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of pushing Hindi at the expense of regional languages. Yet, rejecting Hindi outright is an overcorrection. The reality is that Hindi is an important language in India’s economic and political landscape. Naidu’s position, one of accommodation rather than confrontation, offers a middle ground that other Southern leaders would do well to consider.


Some states already recognize this. Karnataka, despite its own history of linguistic pride, has allowed Hindi to be taught as an optional language. Kerala, whose migrants work in Hindi-speaking regions and the Gulf, has been less hostile to Hindi education. Naidu’s model, balancing regional identity with practical necessity, offers a way forward. Languages should be embraced, not politicized. Southern leaders would do well to listen to him.

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