Marathi writer Shobha Deshpande staged nearly 20-hour protest on Thursday outside a jewellery shop in Mumbai after its owner allegedly refused to speak in Marathi and asks her to leave.
Shobha Deshpande had visited the jewellery shop to buy a pair of earrings when she said the shop owner asked her to leave after she insisted him to speak in Marathi.
On Friday, the jeweller, Shankarlal Jain, apologised to Shobha Deshpande, who had staged the protest overnight on the footpath outside his shop since Thursday.
Earlier, police took Shobha Deshpande to a hospital for a medical check-up.
The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) backed the protest by Shobha Deshpande and warned Shankarlal Jain that he will not be able to open his shop till he learns Marathi.
MNS workers also allegedly slapped Shankarlal Jain.
“We were here to support the writer. We taught the jeweller a lesson for being arrogant. We have made him apologise,” MNS workers said.
“He [the jeweller] will not be able to open the shop until he learns Marathi, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said.
Speaking to a Marathi news channel, Deshpande said she had gone to the jewellery shop in Colaba, south Mumbai, to buy earrings.
During their conversation, the author insisted that Shankarlal Jain speaks to her in Marathi.
His shop is in the capital of Maharashtra whose language is Marathi and he must know how to speak Marathi.
He said he cannot speak Marathi. I was speaking in Marathi and he did not.
“Since I did not speak in Hindi, he refused to sell me the earrings. He arrogantly asked me to leave the place, Deshpande alleged.
Shobha Deshpande then said she demanded that the jeweller show the licence required to run the shop, but he refused.
“When I called police, they too took the jewellers side. Then I staged the protest,” Shobha Deshpande alleged.
Jain on Friday morning apologised to the writer, who staged dharna for nearly 20 hours before being taken to the hospital.
(With PTI inputs)