Mumbai auto and taxi drivers attend Marathi classes to retain licences

Inside Mumbai's Andheri Regional Transport Office (RTO), rows of plastic chairs that once held people waiting for driving tests now seat a different crowd: auto and taxi drivers, notebooks open, mouthing Marathi sentences. The four-day language course, introduced from June 1, is now part of five of 25 RTOs in Mumbai. Each day, 50 to 80 drivers attend per centre, racing to clear a Marathi test before their permits expire.

The urgency stems from an April announcement by Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Baburao Sarnaik. He declared that taxi and auto drivers in Mumbai must know how to read, write, and speak Marathi or risk losing their licences. Transport officials issuing licences without proper checks may also face action. The deadline, initially May 1, was extended to August 15 after political backlash from Shiv Sena's Sanjay Nirupam and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi. Mumbai has 88,923 registered taxis and 4,22,990 autos, many driven by migrants.

For some drivers, the classroom is an unfamiliar and uncomfortable space, reviving old anxieties about literacy and age. Drivers who have spent years memorising routes now hold pencils again, sounding out words under an instructor's gaze. For some, the four days pass quickly; for others, each session is a quiet reckoning with the past.

In Kurla, Moolachand Yadav, 53, who has been driving an auto since 1991, says he has no quarrel with the requirement. "I have been in this city for so many years, learning Marathi might help me find more customers," he says, confident of finishing the course. He sees it as adapting to a new route or app. While some drivers grumble about lost peak earning hours, Yadav sees potential for better conversations with passengers and regular customers.

In Govandi, Rakesh Mandal, 42, a taxi driver of 20 years, bristles at the idea. "I am 42. My children go to school. If I also start going to school, they will think their father is uneducated," he says, though he admits quietly that he cannot read or write well. The thought of his children seeing him study fills him with dread. For Mandal, going back to school risks exposing a gap he has concealed for decades.

Transport Minister Sarnaik said learning Marathi would help integrate migrants and improve customer service. Critics, however, argue the policy targets non-Marathi speakers and could disrupt livelihoods. The government has set up special centres and extended the deadline to ease the transition. As the August 15 cutoff approaches, thousands of drivers are rushing to complete the course, balancing language lessons with their daily earnings.