Marathi Rajbhasha Day 2023: Know History, Significance Of Day Celebrating Marathi Language

Marathi Language Day is celebrated on February 27 every year to honour the birth anniversary of renowned Marathi poet Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, was born on February 27, 1912 in Maharashtra's Pune.

New Delhi: Marathi Language Day is celebrated on February 27 every year to honour the birth anniversary of renowned Marathi poet Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar. He was also popularly known as  “Kusumagraj”.  Vaman Shirwadkar was born on February 27, 1912, in Pune in Maharashtra. He died in the year 1999 aged 87. The government started celebrating “Marathi Rajbhasha Gaurav Din” after Shirwadkar’s demise in 1999.

Shirwadkar, who was an eminent Marathi poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and a humanist, had written 16 volumes of poems, three novels, eight volumes of short stories, and seven volumes of essays among many others. Most of his work was centered around the theme of freedom, justice, and social evils like poverty. 

The day is being celebrated over the years with great excitement and enthusiasm. Various institutional organisations conduct cultural programs, creative writing, and essay writing competitions to commemorate the special occasion. To spread awareness about the significance and history of the Marathi language, government officials conduct several events and workshops.

Marathi, which is the official language of Maharastra, is also the fourth most spoken language in India after Hindi, Bengali, and Telugu. It is the 19th most spoken language in the world. Two special awards are given on this day to individuals for taking initiative for promoting Marathi literature. 

Kusumagraj was a recipient of various state awards and national awards. He received Sahitya Akademi Award in 1974 in Marathi for Natsamrat. He received the Jnanpith Award in 1987 and Padma Bhushan in the year 1991. In the year 1964, Kusumagraj served as the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, which was held in Margao.