On July 18, 2025, a minor seat dispute in Mumbai’s local train took the form of language dispute. The incident took place in a crowded female compartment of the Central Line, where the debate on the seat soon focused on Marathi and Hindi language. In a video that went viral, some Marathi -speaking women were heard demanding a passenger to speak in Marathi. A woman said, “This is our Mumbai. Say Marathi, otherwise go out.” The incident further airing the language dispute already going on in Maharashtra.
The controversy began when an argument started among some passengers over the seat in the female compartment. One woman opposed the other passenger to speak in Hindi and demanded Marathi to speak. In the video, six to seven women are seen arguing, in which some spoke of respect for Marathi language. During this time there was no physical clash, but the sharp debate created a tense atmosphere in the compartment. Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police have started investigating the matter.
The incident took place amidst the ongoing tension in Maharashtra. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers have recently been accused of targeting non-Marathi speaking people. For example, on July 16, a shopkeeper in Vikhroli was beaten up by MNS workers allegedly not speaking Marathi and commenting against Marathi in WhatsApp status. In another incident, a food vendor was slapped in Thane for not speaking Marathi. These cases went viral on social media, causing a debate on linguistic intolerance.
Many people called such incidents an attack on the cultural identity of Maharashtra, while others believe that this is a political strategy for the upcoming municipal elections. Experts say that such incidents can harm social unity and respect all languages in a multilingual city like Mumbai.
