Varanasi, July 9 (IANS) The ‘Marathi vs Hindi’ politics in Maharashtra and violence against Hindi-speaking residents, ignited by the ‘unification’ of Thackeray cousins resonated in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, with students of the Banaras Hindi University (BHU) demonstrating against spate of violence targeting the North Indian migrants in the state.

A group of BHU students gathered outside the University and protested mindless violence against Hindi-speaking migrants in the state by displaying banners and posters.

They protested against the high-handedness of SS (UBT) and MNS chiefs, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray and their henchmen and demanded an end to the turmoil of people who migrated to the Southern state.

They raised slogans against the Thackeray duo and waved posters with slogans like ‘Matribhasha ka apmaan nahin sahega hindustan’ and ‘Hindi virodhi is deshdrohi’, capturing the attention of everyone.

Notably, Maharashtra has been in the spotlight for multiple incidents of targeted violence where the MNS goons went on a violent spree, singling out Hindi-speaking migrants and thrashing them brutally in public.

Vipul Singh, a BHU student speaking to IANS, said that the hatred and violence against the Hindi-speaking population in Maharashtra is disappointing and disgusting.

“Our demand is that Hindi is the national language of the country, and nobody should dare to challenge its universal appeal and acceptance,” he stated.

Further calling for restraining violence in the state, he said in a warning of sorts, “If people from the Hindi heartland are beaten and thrashed by hooligans and thugs of a certain party, it may lead to pushback, even reprisal from Hindi-speaking provinces.”

Vivek Singh, another BHU student, said that their demonstration is against the abhorrent and unabashed acts of Raj Thackeray-led MNS, Uddhav Thackeray-led SS (UBT), as well as their goons.

He further said that Hindi is our civilisational legacy and any act to harm it will be strongly opposed.

The protesting students called out the ‘double standards’ of the Thackeray brothers and vowed to continue their stir until the self-styled guardians of the Marathi language are reined in.

–IANS

mr/dan