Declare Marathi as classical language: Shiv Sena

Members of the Parliament from Shiv Sena raised the issue of classical language status for Marathi in Lok Sabha and demonstrated on Parliament's premises on Tuesday.

Sena MP from South Mumbai Arvind Sawant raised the issue through an adjournment motion; fellow Sena MPs later joined him as they approached the Well. Mentioning that the Central government has recognised Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia as classical languages till now, Sawant said that while Marathi was one of the oldest and established languages in western region of India, it had not been accorded the status of a classical language.

He added that Marathi had a vast literary background and met all criteria for recognition as a classical language. Earlier, Sawant, joined by his fellow MPs Gajanan Kirtikar, Shrirang Barne, Anandrao Adsul, Chandrakant Khaire, Shivaji Adhalrao Patil and Hemant Godse demonstrated near the Mahatma Gandhi statue, raising slogans demanding classical language status for Marathi.

Sawant said he had written several letters on the issue to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma.

"There is no urgency in according the status of classical language to Marathi," Sawant said.