Maharashtra plans global push for Marathi; JNU launches course on Shivaji’s guerrilla warfare
– Ronita Torcato
A postgraduate course on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s Guerrilla Warfare Strategy has been introduced at the Kusumagraj Special Centre for Marathi Language, Literature and Culture at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, Maharashtra’s Marathi language minister Uday Samant announced during a meeting chaired by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at Sahyadri Guest House, Malabar Hill (Mumbai) on Monday.
The meeting of the governing council of the State Marathi Development Institute reviewed several initiatives aimed at promoting the Marathi language and its regional dialects. Members proposed expanding the ‘Book Villages’ and ‘Library-in-a-Box’ programmes to improve access to quality Marathi literature in schools located in tribal and border areas.
They also recommended promoting children’s literature and libraries and establishing a theatre complex in the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli–Wadsa region to preserve the Zhadiboli dialect and the theatrical traditions of eastern Vidarbha.
Chief minister Fadnavis also reviewed the progress of a project to digitise nearly 1.5 million historical documents written in the Modi script and preserved in Thanjavur.
The meeting discussed plans to establish 75 International Brihan Maharashtra Forums to promote Marathi globally, along with the setting up of a Global Marathi Centre in London.
Samant said the Marathi Bhasha Bhavan in Mumbai is expected to be completed by 2027, while the Global Marathi Centre in London is scheduled to be inaugurated by August 2026.
Fadnavis directed the Institute to examine all proposals and prepare a comprehensive action plan for their implementation. He also instructed that the Institute’s statutory meetings for the entire year be scheduled in advance to ensure continuity, transparency and greater institutional effectiveness.
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