In an interview that has generated a gigantic controversy recently, Bhojpuri cinema hero Pawan Singh has attacked Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray during the ongoing language controversy in Bombay. Singh’s emotional outburst is a clarion call for non-Marathi citizens working and living in the state. The actor’s utterances reflect an underlying tension between provincial identity and the constitutional right to work and live anywhere in India.
The Content of the Argument
The essence of the controversy is the MNS’s firm insistence on the fact that individuals from outside Maharashtra need to learn and converse in Marathi. While the MNS sees it as a question of the preservation of Maharashtrian identity and culture, others view it as the deprivation of citizens’ fundamental rights. The strong counter-argument presented by Pawan Singh is that language cannot be employed as a means to deny the right to work or domicile in the state. He argued that life and livelihood cannot be determined by the capacity of how well one can communicate in a state language when Hindi has the status of a national link language.
Singh left no room for doubt in an open analogy, saying that he was born in Bengal but does not speak Bengali. He firmly believes that he has every right to speak Hindi anywhere in the country. “If I go to Mumbai to earn my livelihood, what will Raj Thackeray do? Will he kill me? I am not scared of dying. If a man is killed in such a circumstance, he will be a martyr,” Singh said. His remark not only reflects personal courage but also a message of solidarity to millions of migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and other states who are also under threat. He called upon them to continue fighting without giving up, emphasizing the vision of one single India where one’s destiny is not decided on the basis of the language.
A Declaration of National Unity
The actor’s act of defiance has created a fresh controversy on social networking websites and media platforms on the balance of provincial pride and national oneness. The event also reveals the nuanced socio-political tensions in a multi-lingual country like India, where provincial and national identities come face to face. His act of defiance against Raj Thackeray has been perceived as a defense of national oneness, which has raised a wider debate on the role of language in a multi-lingual society.
