Thread by @dhavalkulkarni

An elitist, upper-class & upper-caste dominated discourse often equates the sense of being 'Marathi' to those who have #Marathi-sounding surnames. But the sense of a #Marathiidentity transcends these boundaries. "Non-Maharashtrians" have enriched #Marathi literature & social life

Some examples:
16th-17th century bhakti- warkari saint Shaikh Muhammed of Shrigonda in Ahmednagar district, a Muslim by birth, wrote abhangs and books in #Marathi.

#Maharashtra #Marathiculture

He says:
Because of Gopala, I have transcended norms of purity...
Shaikh Muhammed may be an avindh (an Abrahamic or one whose ears were not pierced like those of Hindus), but Govinda resides in my heart.

Marathi Muslims in Konkan, western Maharashtra etc speak fluent Marathi. But some of them complain that when they reveal their names, the Marathi manoos who is conversing with them switches from Marathi to broken Hindi!

A European missionary Fr.Thomas Stephens, S.J. wrote the 'Krista Purana' on the life of Jesus Christ in the 17th century in Marathi- Konkani with beautiful metaphors praising the #Marathi language. 'Like Kasturi among fragrances, is #Marathi among languages...'

Moti Bulasa (d. October 1900) was born into a Marwari and was a follower of the Prarthana Samaj. He secured a scholarship to study religion at the University of Manchester in England, but died while he was undertaking the voyage by sea.

Bulasa did something very noteworthy. He was influenced by reformist and modernist thought. He published a series of seven articles 'Marathi Bhaseche Sadyasthithi' or the contemporary position of the Marathi language in the 'Suvicharsamagam'.

In this, he analysed Marathi poetry, prose, drama, novels, and writings on history, philosophy etc. Bulasa makes some searing yet incisive comments on the writings of Vishnushashtri Chiplunkar, who played a seminal role in the upper-caste Brahmanical revivalism in Maharashtra.

Bulasa praises the reformist Madhavrao Kunte's poetry 'Raja Shivaji.' He points out that the writings of Chiplunkar, who was socially orthodox, captured the minds of those "who were yet to gain maturity and refinement."

But, as one gained some intellectual mass, the hold that Chiplunkar's writings on them slips and they realise that these works are "an exemplar or writing skills and not of intellectual purity."

It must be noted that Chiplunkar's writings carried heft and affected the incipient trend of social reforms among upper-castes in Maharashtra for a while. He opposed reformers, including upper-caste reformers, Christian missionaries and the colonial rulers.

Another Marwari-Jain Walchand Kothari, who hailed from Madha in Solapur, was a leader of the non-Brahmin movement, editor and journalist. He was among the front-ranking leaders of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement that ensured statehood for #Maharashtra.

A teenage migrant from coastal Karnataka named George Fernandes could speak just one sentence in Marathi when he came to #Mumbai: 'Do you have any work for me?' But he cut his teeth in labour unionism and picked up fluent #Marathi on the way.

It is said that George Fernandes was the only contemporary of #ShivSena chief #BalThackeray who could address him on first name terms.

There are several non-Maharashtrians who speak fluent Marathi and associate themselves with a #Marathi identity.

So, the crux is, do not confuse surnames or regional origins with a larger sense of being a #Maharashtrian. This will be a great disservice to the #Marathi cause.

And I am not getting into natural-born Maharashtrians who say "Marathi words remember karayla difficult jata" (I find it difficult to remember to recall Marathi words) after a month in the US or UK!

The #BeneIsraeli #Jews who migrated to Israel from #Maharashtra (esp #Mumbai and the #Konkan) speak fluent Marathi even today. They also run a periodical called 'Maayboli.' Their love for Marathi runs deep.