3 min readAug 22, 2026 06:55 AM IST First published on: Aug 22, 2026 at 06:55 AM ISTComing at a time when public transport is plagued by pressing issues of affordability and accessibility, the implementation of the Marathi language requirement for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in Maharashtra is both irrational and unconstitutional. It is part of a larger backsliding into narrow linguistic politics. This has been evident in the state for some time, from the back and forth on the three-language-policy in schools, the Hindi “imposition” bogey whipped up by the Shiv Sena (UBT), to the incidents of hooliganism unleashed by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which has cast itself as a “protector” of Marathi pride. The state transport department has justified the new move on the ground that drivers should be able to understand basic instructions and communicate with passengers in the state’s native language. Nine years after the Bombay High Court set aside an attempt to make proficiency in Marathi compulsory for auto-rickshaw permits, the latest move raises the same fundamental question: Why should linguistic assimilation be necessary for employability?The government has said that drivers found lacking functional knowledge of Marathi will first receive a notice, giving them a month to learn the language. If they fail, their driving licence and Public Service Vehicle (PSV) badge may be suspended for up to three months, with repeated violations resulting in permanent cancellation of licences. These penalties are part of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicle (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified on August 12, with the language proficiency deadline earlier extended from May 1 to August 15. The amended rules extend the language requirement to app-based cab drivers and vehicle permit holders. The language mandate ignores what makes Mumbai work. Dictating linguistic proficiency, making livelihoods dependent on it, tilts the field against migrants whose labour sustains urban economies. Transport systems, particularly in constantly expanding megacities like Mumbai, depend on flexibility, scale, and the willingness of workers to follow opportunities wherever they may be.AdvertisementMore fundamentally, it undermines the constitutional guarantee of freedom of mobility, which gives citizens the right to reside and settle in any part of India and practise any profession or occupation there. The choice before the state is clear: Pursue inclusive growth while securing constitutional freedoms, or indulge insular impulses that shrink possibilities of growth and cramp individual liberties. Maharashtra’s language mandate is a turn in the wrong direction. It must be rolled back.