An Airtel employee in Mumbai went viral on social media recently after a video was posted of her refusing to interact with a customer in Marathi.
In the video, the employee responds to a customer’s complaint, saying, “Why should I speak in Marathi? Where is it written to speak Marathi in Maharashtra? You should speak to me properly.”
She added, “Marathi is not important to me. We live in Hindustan and anyone can use any language.”
The customer, stated in the video, that the employee was neglecting to address his grievances and had screamed at him.
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“Why should I speak in Marathi? Have you bought, or do you own Maharashtra? Are you going to tell me where to work and not to work? Recording is not allowed, or I will call the police,” the woman purportedly tells the customer.
Airtel has not issued an official reaction on the incident yet.
Marathi language row
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, who heads the women’s wing of the Maharashtra BJP, slammed the Airtel employee in a post on X, saying, “The arrogance and rudeness in the Airtel gallery has come to light. Disrespect for Maharashtra and the Marathi language will not be tolerated. Airtel should apologise to all Marathi speakers on behalf of that girl.”
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She also posted a video, where she added, “Going forward, every manager and employee in your galleries must be proficient in Marathi, and recruitment should prioritise individuals fluent in the language.”
“If one resides in Maharashtra, they must know Marathi. If they don’t, they should at least be willing to learn and respect the language,” Wagh said.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, during a state assembly meeting last week, stated that the language of Maharashtra and Mumbai was Marathi and those residing in the state should learn it.
His statement was in response to senior RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi saying, “Mumbai does not have one language. It has many languages. Certain areas have their own language. The language of Ghatkopar is Gujarati. In Girgaum, you will have fewer Hindi speakers and more Marathi speakers. So it is easy that any individual coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.”
The Maharashtra government has also issued a resolution mandating the use of Marathi in all government and semi-government offices across the state.