The BMC has decided to celebrate Marathi Pandharwada (fortnight) on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Marathi writer VV Shirwadkar (popularly known as Kusumagraj).
To promote the Marathi language, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked its 1.16 lakh employees to speak only in Marathi between February 27 and March 13 in civic hospitals, ward offices and other establishments.
The BMC has decided to celebrate Marathi Pandharwada (fortnight) on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Marathi writer VV Shirwadkar (popularly known as Kusumagraj). Instructions have been given to all BMC department heads, asking officials to converse in Marathi — not just among themselves but also with visitors.
“We have asked the civic administration to celebrate Marathi Pandharvada with a sense of pride. In a city like Mumbai, people tend to use either English or Hindi for communication. We have noticed that Marathi people, too, hardly ever speak in their own language. It is only when we start taking pride in our language that people from other states will want to use it,” said Rahul Shewale, chairman of the BMC’s standing committee.
As part of the fortnight, the BMC will arrange debates and competitions to award the most fluent Marathi speaker. This, officials said, will encourage Maharashtrians to start reading Marathi literature and non-Maharashtrians to read primary books. People can invite well-known Marathi speakers in their departments to help them understand the importance and value of Marathi.
“BMC employees can put up banners and hoardings to preserve Marathi as a language. People should consciously talk to each other in Marathi only. They should not feel uncomfortable while speaking in their mother tongue. If non-Marathi speakers make a mistake, the Maharashtrians should correct them,” said Shewale.
The civic body has also decided to do assessments of the Marathi Pandharvada. All heads of departments will submit observation reports to their seniors for a final evaluation. “It will help us imbibe the importance of Marathi and also help us find out the lacunae so that the administration can make a few changes while celebrating the Marathi Pandharvada next year,” said a senior official who prepared the circular.
Mangesh Sangale, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena group leader in the BMC, said that if the central government can observe a Hindi Day, there was nothing wrong in the BMC’s decision to observe a Marathi Pandharvada. “To promote the language, I had earlier mooted a proposal of giving a double increment to someone who completes a Master’s degree in Marathi literature. There is a threat to our language because of excessive use of English and Hindi. These languages have invaded not just our workplaces but also our homes,” he said.
A Congress corproator said that the Shiv Sena is trying to woo the Marathi vote bank, as BMC elections are round the corner.
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