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I take strong offence to such articles that try to create an unwarranted wedge between people (“How the hard ‘na’ insists on Marathi’s caste hierarchy”). This feels like an unnecessary attempt to read caste into something that is simply linguistic diversity.

I have seen similar claims elsewhere too, like people in one part of Karnataka calling their Kannada more “refined” than another region. That is just regional bias.

Framing everyday language differences as caste-coded risks creating divisions where none exist. Language should connect people, not be used to subtly divide them. I hope this response is also posted on your website, which I doubt you will. – Vivek Joshi

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The non-nasal “na” and nasal “na” have nothing to do with Pune brahminical Marathi. In Marathi (Devanagari) script, there are different symbols for non-nasal and nasal “na”. This means there are two different pronunciations for “na”.

The author might be aware that even Jains and Punjabis have nasal “na” in their languages. To the best of my knowledge, not all Jains or Punjabis are Brahmins. – Vasant Kalegaonkar

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I read the article with some amusement. As I am not a Maharashtrian Brahmin, I believe I can offer a relatively neutral perspective on the matter. The use of what is referred to as the “hard...

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