Marathi rule crackdown: Claiming ‘harassment’, migrant drivers block Kandivali Link Road

On Monday, August 24, migrant auto and taxi drivers in Kandivali, Mumbai, staged a road blockage in protest of what they claimed was a government crackdown on non-Marathi-speaking drivers. Protesting in the area near Laljipada, drivers alleged harassment by native Marathi speakers who demanded proficiency in the language. Sunil Yadav, a non-Marathi driver, said he and others were being "constantly harassed and stopped by native Marathi speakers and asked to learn the language by hook or by crook."

The protest came on the fourth day of a Transport Department campaign requiring non-Marathi drivers to demonstrate functional knowledge of Marathi or face fines. The Transport Minister, Pratap Sarnaik, had ordered the measure following an inspection that found many drivers lacked basic Marathi proficiency. Yadav accused the campaign of creating divisions within the auto-rickshaw community and questioned the financial burden of the Rs 5,000 fines for those without the language skills, which could be unaffordable for drivers earning around Rs 500 daily.

The protest lasted about 1.5 hours and was the latest in a series of demonstrations against the language requirement.