Maharashtra has given taxi and tuk-tuk drivers another year to learn the state’s official language, Marathi, after protests over a new language requirement.
Transport officials began testing drivers’ ability to hold basic conversations in Marathi on 20 August. Under the original rules, drivers who failed were given one month to learn the language or risk having their licences suspended or cancelled.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the additional year following protests by drivers’ unions. The unions argued that workers, many of whom had migrated from other parts of India, should not risk losing their livelihoods while learning the language.
The government says the requirement is intended to improve communication between drivers and passengers and make journeys safer. Drivers are expected to have a “working knowledge” of Marathi, but do not need to read or write the language or speak it fluently. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has said drivers will be expected to learn during the extension and that there will be further extensions.
The state has organised classes focused on phrases used in everyday driving work, including asking passengers where they want to go, discussing fares and giving directions. Around 166,000 drivers have completed the training and passed an oral test, according to Maharashtra’s transport department.
The extension has eased concerns among some drivers who feared losing their licences and income. Lakhan Pandey, a taxi driver in Mumbai, said drivers had been worried that licence suspensions would affect their daily earnings.
Other drivers say finding time for classes is difficult. Ajay Singh, a Mumbai taxi driver, said he wanted to learn Marathi but struggled to attend lessons while working. He said he was instead listening to Marathi radio and practising with passengers who speak the language.
Maharashtra has almost 979,000 valid taxi and tuk-tuk permits, nearly half of them in the Mumbai metropolitan region.
The rule has also renewed a wider debate in Maharashtra over language, migration and employment. The state was created in 1960 after a campaign for a Marathi-speaking state, and language has remained closely linked to political arguments about jobs and opportunities for Marathi speakers.
