On Sunday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar urged people to make efforts in taking Marathi literature to the next generation and said the state government should undertake a programme for the overall growth of Marathi language. He also said that the idea of imparting education in Marathi at graduation and post-graduation levels for science and commerce streams should be considered.
The former Maharashtra chief minister was speaking as a chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the three-day 94th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All India Marathi Literary Meet) at the Kusumagraj Nagari here. "We will have to create good human beings and not robots from the new generation. Therefore, the Marathi mind should be taken care of and it can be done only with the help of the mother tongue. For this, the Marathi-speaking people should make efforts to take Marathi literature to the next generation," he said.
"Marathi language is the pride of Marathi people. Litterateurs should make efforts to get Marathi its glory and politicians should provide necessary co-operation," Pawar said while appealing to the state government to undertake a programme for overall growth of Marathi language.
On Saturday, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had objected to the name of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar "missing" from the ongoing annual Marathi literary meet in Nashik. The late Hindutva ideologue was born at Bhagur near Nashik in 1883. Referring to it, Pawar said that although he admires the literary works of Veer Savarkar, the decision to name the venue after famous Marathi poet V V Shirwadkar, popularly known as Kusumagraj, was right.
The veteran politician also suggested people to more use of Marathi on social media platforms. "The idea of imparting education in Marathi at college level - graduation and even post-graduation - in science and commerce faculties should also be considered. Consistent work is necessary to modernise the structure of text books. The language of the common man should be given a place in literature. The urge for standard language should be given up and all dialects should be given a place in day-to-day life as well as literature," Pawar added.
Retired judge Narendra Chapalgaonkar also called for the need to use Marathi in day-to-day life. Lamenting that Marathi people in Mumbai speak Hindi, he said, "We should make use of our own language. The government has taken a decision to make Marathi language compulsory in education. Its strict implementation is necessary."
State Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said, "A pen has great power and if something wrong is happening, litterateurs should raise their voice against it. They should come forward to save democracy when efforts to create problems for the Constitution will be made."
During the literary meet, several resolutions, including giving status of a classical language to Marathi, efforts by the state government to stop closure of Marathi schools were passed. A resolution to condemn the Karnataka government for its "ill treatment" to Marathi language in that state was also passed.
-With PTI Inputs
