With Maharashtra government continuing with its drive to make non-marathi speakers working in the state speak “basic Marathi” as a compulsory requirement to live and work in the state, actor Sanjay Dutt’s remark about his own inability to speak the language has caused embarrassment for the government.
Sanjay Dutt’s public statement—in which he said he could not learn Marathi despite spending six years in a Mumbai jail—came as a ray of hope for relief for thousands of auto-rickshaw drivers and four-wheeler drivers in Maharashtra. The state government recently started a campaign to examine if these drivers are able to speak Marathi. There is a provision for monetary fine for their inability to speak basic Marathi. Autorickshaw drivers in Mumbai had started a three-day strike against the Marathi language rule on August 24.
It is Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik who has been leading this campaign. The popular actor’s comments came at a public event organised by Sarnaik, and Dutt said this to him.
“Pratapbhai, main 6 saal jail mein raha, Yerwada mein. Tab bhi Marathi nahi seekh paaya. Main thoda seekha tha. (I was in Yerwada jail, Pune, for 6 years but still I could not learn Marathi, except for some sentences.)” said Dutt addressing Pratap Sarnaik at a dahi handi event the minister had organised in Thane.
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Dutt then quickly added in Marathi: “Tumhi sarvana Namaskar” (Namaskar to everyone assembled here). He also raised the slogan “Har Har Mahadev” to express his admiration for the God Shiva. Pratap Sarnaik was seen smiling as he heard Dutt make the statement about Marathi and the one in Marathi.
When the controversy over mandatory use of Marathi language by commercial vehicle drivers in Maharashtra rose to a peak last month, with Union minister Ramdas Athawale saying the order could create disputes and hit the livelihoods of drivers from other states, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to step in and postpone punitive action. Sarnaik then said vehicle drivers would be given a year to learn Marathi and would be penalised if they fail to acquire basic skills in the language even after a year.
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Sarnaik said in August that the state government’s Marathi order aims only to ensure those providing passenger transport services in the state possess a working knowledge of the language. He said nearly six lakh auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers operating across Maharashtra would be brought under a Marathi-language learning initiative.
“There are around 9.16 lakh auto-rickshaws and 61,657 taxis in Maharashtra. A large number of them operate in the MMR. We have decided to continue the initiative and make efforts to teach Marathi to those who do not know the language,” Sarnaik said.
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The controversy over language started after Maharashtra’s transport department issued a notification saying the licences and permits of drivers of passenger vehicles could be suspended and eventually cancelled if they fail to acquire a basic knowledge of Marathi within the stipulated period.
Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to six years in jail by a special TADA court in Mumbai for illegally possessing an AK-47 rifle, which was part of the consignment sent by Dawood Ibrahim’s gang in Mumbai. Dutt was convicted only under the Arms Act and did not spend six years behind bars, as he claims. His sentence was reduced to five years by Supreme Court of India. He actually spent a little over four years in jail as he was out of it on paroles, furloughs and legal concessions.
