Last month, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena graduated from an angry mob to a sizeable elected force in the state’s politics. And how did Raj Thackeray’s MNS, newly-minted representative of the people, uphold its responsibilities on its first day? By punching out in all directions. Four MNS members assaulted Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for having taken his oath in Hindi, and were suspended for “extremely shameful conduct never witnessed before in the legislative history of Maharashtra or any other elected House in the country”.

Language wars have riven India for decades, and surfaced on similar occasions (over the use of Urdu, for instance). But what stemmed from a genuine sense of cultural anxiety in Tamil Nadu, perhaps, is simply a stand-in for animosity against “outsiders” in Maharashtra. It is a legislator’s constitutionally established prerogative to take the oath in Hindi in the state. And now, the MNS is trying to force a change with fisticuffs. This is of a piece with their shrunken, poisonous politics — one which is increasingly becoming a middle-of-the-road view in Maharashtra, because of their political competitors’ inability to challenge and reset the frame. While north Indian politicians have been vocal in their condemnation, voices from the Maharashtra political establishment have been curiously evasive. What is most appalling to those watching is the lack of any meaningful political opposition to the idea within the state. MNS hooliganism is only the visible demonstration of a deeply dangerous idea that no other political party effectively countered in Maharashtra. If the politics of Maratha insecurity has now ballooned to these disturbing dimensions, it is only because of the liberal flopdown when faced with it.

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