Maha mandates Marathi use in Central offices, banks

The Maharashtra government has asked Central government offices and services like banks and insurance companies in the state to also use Marathi language in routine work.
A circular issued by the Marathi language department of the state government said Marathi should also be used at railway stations, airport and also during recruitment tests of these offices.
The circular said Marathi is the official language in Maharashtra under the Maharashtra Official Languages Act, 1964. It reminded that as per the three-language formula of the Centre, Marathi should be used along with Hindi and English.
The circular, issued yesterday, said Marathi should also be used in Maharashtra in offices of the Central government in the state and services like banking, telephone, post, insurance, railway, metro, mono-rail, airline, gas, petroleum and taxation.

The circular mandates use of Marathi language in all correspondences, communications and in oral and written transactions and interaction.
Marathi should be used in instructions, public notices, notice boards, indicators and name-plates, it said, adding that Marathi language and Devnagari script be used in application forms, reservation forms, passenger tickets, bank and post office slips.

Marathi language should be used in arrival and departure indicators and time table of the railway trains, metro, mono-rail and flights, train name boards, coach or bogie numbers, name of stations terminals, ports and air ports, notice and instruction boards and public announcements systems in the state, it said.

The circular also asked concerned offices to use Marathi along with English and Hindi languages in all written and oral examinations conducted during staff recruitment.
The circular comes after the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) last month trained guns on banks, asking them to conduct transactions in Marathi.
MNS functionaries had then met officials of banks including the Punjab National Bank, Union Bank and Allahabad Bank here and handed over letters to the bank managements, asking them to ensure that transactions are conducted in Marathi as well.
"You are aware that Marathi is the 'rajbhasha' (state language) of Maharashtra. That is why, our party is firm that all formal transactions in the state should be carried out in Marathi," the letter had said.

"You (banks) can conduct transactions in other languages also. But we are firm that transactions be also done in Marathi," the letter had said, asking banks to "respect Marathi".