Sunita Somvanshi
Maharashtra has made it compulsory for auto-rickshaw, taxi and app-cab drivers to know Marathi. State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik announced the rule on August 12, updating existing motor vehicle regulations that date back to 1989.
Under the rule, a driver who cannot show basic Marathi skills first gets a one-month notice to learn the language. If they still fail, their driving badge is suspended for three months. If they keep ignoring the requirement, both their badge and permit are cancelled for good.
The deadline for drivers to learn Marathi ended on August 15. Enforcement checks began soon after and ran through August 18. In this first round, 7,750 auto and taxi drivers failed the Marathi test. They now have to attend more training before they can retake the exam.
In Mumbai, RTO flying squads checked 1,430 drivers. Nearly one in three could not show the required practical knowledge of Marathi. Officials issued show-cause notices to 422 of them.
This is not the first time the state has tried to make Marathi compulsory for driving a passenger vehicle. In 2017, the Bombay High Court struck down a similar order. A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Anuja Prabhudesai ruled that the government could not deny auto-rickshaw permits to non-Marathi speakers through a circular. The court called the move illegal and said any such change needed proper rule-making, not an administrative order.
The new rule has drawn reactions from several political leaders. Sarnaik, who pushed the policy, defended it as necessary respect for the state’s language. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis backed the idea of learning Marathi but said the government does not support violence or intimidation in the name of language. He said disputes over language are not acceptable, and that training should come before punishment.
Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) criticised the government for softening its enforcement earlier this year, calling it a retreat from its own rule.
Leaders outside Maharashtra have also weighed in. In Bihar, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha called the order dictatorial. Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar said it went against India’s federal structure. In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwati Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey warned the rule could hurt migrant workers, many of whom drive taxis and autos in Maharashtra cities. JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said long-time drivers should get enough time to learn the language.
