We are 60-year-olds, how can we learn?: Mumbai auto drivers strike over Marathi rule

Mumbai autorickshaw drivers are on a three-day strike against the Maharashtra government's Marathi language requirement, with several drivers saying they fear penalties and action against licences. Drivers said they were willing to learn Marathi but objected to being penalised before they had been given adequate time to meet the requirement. Mumbai autorickshaw strike: Drivers protest Marathi language directive (Representational image)Autorickshaw drivers in Mumbai began a three-day strike on Monday to protest the Maharashtra government's directive requiring commercial passenger vehicle drivers to have a working knowledge of Marathi, saying they fear penalties and action against their licences. The drivers said they were not opposed to Marathi but questioned how older, uneducated workers could suddenly meet the requirement."There is a three-day autorickshaw strike. This has been called over the Marathi language directive. Nobody is listening to us. If you ask a 60-year-old person to suddenly speak Marathi, how will they do it? We want justice," one driver said.Another driver, who said he was 55-60 years old and had never attended school, questioned how such workers could be expected to quickly learn the language."How can we speak Marathi? Had we been educated, we would have been sitting in an office. We are trying to speak broken Marathi but that is not being considered. We are being penalised instead. Can we pay Rs 15,000-20,000 as fine?" he said. "We will continue this three-day strike until justice is done," he added.#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: An autorickshaw driver says, "There is a 3-day autorickshaw strike. This has been called over the Marathi language directive. Nobody is listening to us. If you ask a 60-year-old person to suddenly speak Marathi, how will they do it? We want justice." pic.twitter.com/DbEJBByy9r— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2026SARNAIK WARNS RTO OFFICIALS AGAINST EARLY FINESAmid the protests, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said RTO officials would face action if they fined drivers before the expiry of the one-month deadline given to them to learn Marathi. Sarnaik said the August 12 government resolution provides for a month's notice to autorickshaw and taxi drivers who lack working knowledge of Marathi. If drivers fail to meet the requirement after the notice period, their licence and badge can be suspended, with a further three months allowed to learn the language. Continued non-compliance could eventually lead to cancellation of the licence."If an RTO official is found to have wrongly fined drivers before a month's notice ends, action will be taken against him," Sarnaik said.His clarification came after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam met him and sought a halt to fines, alleging that drivers were being penalised without being given the stipulated month's notice. Nirupam also claimed that fines as high as Rs 25,000 were being imposed.RTOs issued notices to 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers, mainly autorickshaw and taxi drivers, on August 20 for inadequate knowledge of Marathi. A day later, notices were issued to another 1,499 non-Marathi-speaking drivers across Maharashtra.Sarnaik said 1,65,600 non-Marathi autorickshaw and taxi drivers had so far attended Marathi classes.FADNAVIS SAYS BASIC MARATHI, NOT FLUENCY, REQUIREDChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sought to ease concerns over the directive, saying drivers were not expected to become experts in Marathi. "There is no reason to make them experts in Marathi. They should know work-related, basic Marathi," Fadnavis said.He maintained that the Mahayuti government would not tolerate injustice against anyone on the basis of language and said drivers would be given additional time, if required, to acquire functional knowledge of Marathi.Fadnavis also said no licence had been cancelled so far and reiterated that the drive was aimed at ensuring basic communication between drivers and passengers, while preserving Marathi language, culture and identity.- EndsWith inputs from agenciesPublished By: Priyanka KumariPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 20:00 IST