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Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, used a public gathering in Mumbai on Saturday to issue a bold call: wherever the name “Bombay” persists, he promised, it would be changed to “Mumbai.” The remarks came during a visit to the four-fold constituency of Charkop, followed by his participation in a Malvani festival in the same area.
Thackeray argued that the use of “Bombay” undermines the native identity of Marathi-speaking Mumbaikars. He claimed that certain political forces deliberately cling to the old name to distort the city’s heritage and culture. “Wherever there is Bombay, we will make it Mumbai, even if it is a school name,” he said.
He also pointed to what he described as growing environmental and civic neglect in the city. According to him, pollution levels in Mumbai’s air have become dangerously high. He blamed the rise in pollution not on natural factors or distant volcanoes, but on what he called the corruption and misgovernance of past years in municipal administration, according to report by Loksatta.
Thackeray questioned whether earlier mayors from his community were considered less authentic for being non-Hindu, a claim he said is being used by rival parties to stir divisions. “We are genuine Marathi patriots,” he insisted, appealing to unity across religious lines.
Addressing residents and supporters, he warned those he described as “outsiders” trying to challenge Mumbai’s identity: “If anyone tries to throw a stumbling block into the love Mumbaikars have for their city, we will not stay silent.”
With municipal elections approaching, Thackeray’s remarks underscore a broader push by Shiv Sena (UBT) to assert regional identity and Marathi pride in Mumbai. His promise to rename places carrying “Bombay” reflects a stronger demand for cultural recognition and local self-assertion amid changing political currents.
