The video showed the rickshaw driver saying, "Main Hindi bolunga".
A migrant auto-rickshaw driver in Maharashtra's Palghar district was assaulted in full public view by supporters of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) after a prior confrontation over Marathi language had gone viral on social media.
A few days earlier, an argument between a man named Bhavesh Padolia, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh, and an auto-rickshaw driver -- himself a migrant -- at Virar station went viral on social media
The video showed the rickshaw driver declaring, "Main Hindi bolunga" ("I will speak in Hindi") repeatedly when asked why he was not speaking in Marathi. According to Mr Padolia's version of events, he had questioned the driver about his failure to use Marathi in public. The driver responded by saying he would rather speak in Hindi and Bhojpuri.
On Saturday, the rickshaw driver was confronted by a group of Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS supporters near Virar railway station. Visuals from the site show the driver being slapped multiple times, including by women members of the groups. He was then compelled to apologise publicly to Mr Padolia, his sister, and to the state of Maharashtra, for what the attackers claimed was an insult to the Marathi language and cultural icons.
Uday Jadhav, the Virar city chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), who was seen at the location, later confirmed that the group had "responded in the true Shiv Sena style."
"If anyone dares to insult the Marathi language, Maharashtra, or Marathi people, they will get a reply in the true Shiv Sena style. We will not sit silent," Mr Jadhav said. "The driver had the audacity to speak ill of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos. He was taught a befitting lesson. We made him apologise to the people of the state and to those he had offended."
Despite the public nature of the assault, the Palghar district police have yet to register an official case.
"We have seen the viral video and are verifying the facts, but as of now, no complaint has been received from either party," the police said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
The incident is the latest in a string of attacks fuelled by language politics in Maharashtra. On July 1, MNS workers in Thane slapped a street food vendor for refusing to converse in Marathi. That incident also drew widespread criticism and led to the arrest of seven party workers.
In response to that episode, traders in Bhayander organised a counter-protest, accusing MNS activists of moral policing. Tensions escalated, prompting the MNS and several aligned groups to organise a protest march on July 8, defending what they called Marathi "asmita" (pride).
That march, held in the Mira-Bhayander area, saw the participation of leaders from the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and other opposition groups. Police had earlier denied permission for the protest, citing intelligence reports of possible unrest.
The linguistic tensions are also being viewed against the backdrop of recent state education policy moves. The Maharashtra government's now-rolled-back mandate to introduce Hindi in primary schools prompted criticism from pro-Marathi groups, who accused the state of diluting regional identity in favour of national linguistic integration.
MNS workers staged protests in Mira Road and other parts of Thane against the directive, which they viewed as a threat to Marathi's primacy in education.
Thackeray Supporters Thrash Auto Driver Days After "Hindi Bolunga" Remark