A language spoken by over 83 million people got its moment of formal pride in 2024 — and on Saturday, 3 October 2026, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis marked that milestone by inaugurating Marathi Bhasha Saptah 2026 (Marathi Language Week) on the occasion of Abhijat Marathi Bhasha Sanman Divas (Classical Marathi Language Honour Day).

Posting in Marathi on X, CM Fadnavis opened with the celebrated line 'Labhale amhas bhagya bolato Marathi' — 'We are fortunate to speak Marathi' — before extending greetings to every Marathi speaker and formally launching the week-long celebration. His post tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, crediting the central government's 2024 decision to confer Classical Language status on Marathi as the foundation for the day's honour.

The Classical Language recognition that changed everything

Marathi's elevation to Classical Language status by the Modi government in 2024 was a watershed moment for the state's cultural identity. The Classical Language tag — which brings with it central funding for research, a national award for scholars, and academic chairs at universities — had previously been conferred on Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia. Marathi's inclusion placed it in this elite group, a demand Maharashtra had pressed for over two decades.

CM Fadnavis called the recognition 'a moment of pride for every Marathi person' and described it as an honour bestowed on the language's 'glorious linguistic heritage.' The Abhijat Marathi Bhasha Sanman Divas is now observed on 3 October to mark this decision, and the week that follows — Marathi Bhasha Saptah — is dedicated to promotion, literary celebration, and cultural outreach.

From Lilacharitra to the digital stage

Fadnavis traced Marathi's literary arc from the Lilacharitra — the biography of Chakradhar Swami, considered one of the oldest prose works in Marathi — through Dnyaneshwar Maharaj's Dnyaneshwari, the devotional abhangas of Tukaram Maharaj, and the shahiri (ballad) tradition. He invoked Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a guardian not just of swarajya (self-rule) but of swabhasha — pride in one's own language.

The Chief Minister also celebrated the richness of Marathi's dialects — Kokani, Varhadi, Malvani, Ahirani, Agri, Dhangari, and Zhadiboli — arguing that this diversity deepens, rather than fragments, the language's cultural universe.

His most forward-looking call was for Marathi to claim space in the digital world. 'A new digital culture is taking shape alongside our traditional culture,' he wrote, urging speakers to amplify Marathi through OTT platforms, social media, and digital media. The phrase he used — 'Marathicha danka jagbhar vajvuya' — translates to 'Let us make Marathi resound across the world.'

A week of language, legacy, and reach

Marathi Bhasha Saptah 2026 is set to feature literary events, cultural programmes, and outreach initiatives across Maharashtra. The week-long format is designed to move beyond a single ceremonial day and embed promotion of the language — its use, research, and preservation of its literature — into a sustained public conversation.

For CM Fadnavis, who presides over a state where language politics have long run deep, the inauguration is both a cultural salute and a governance signal: that the Classical Language tag earned in 2024 is not a trophy on a shelf but a mandate to act. Marathi, he insists, must echo from ancient manuscripts all the way to the next viral reel.