Marathi Bhasha Diwas is observed on February 27, every year. Marathi is one of the most spoken languages in India and has the fourth-largest number of native speakers in India. It is the 19th language on the list of most spoken languages in the world. The Marathi language has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indo-Aryan languages, dating from about 900 AD. The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and Varhadi dialects.

Marathi Bhasha Diwas is celebrated on February 27 to mark the birth anniversary of notable Marathi litterateur Vishu Vaman Shirwadkar, who was popularly known as ‘Kusumagraj’.

He was an eminent Marathi poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer, and humanist. In his writing, he talked about the freedom, justice, and emancipation of the deprived and the downtrodden. He was the recipient of several state and national awards. He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi award in Marathi for Natsamrat in 1974, Padma Bhushan in 1991, and the Dnyanpith award in 1987.

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After his demise in 1990, his birth anniversary was turned to Marathi Rajbhasha Gaurav Din.

This day is celebrated across Maharashtra, with cultural events in schools and colleges. Famous Marathi songs including ‘Mayaboli Marathi’ are sung and life events of Kusamagraj are showcased to the people. Large-scale special celebrations are carried out in Nashik –Shirwadkar’s hometown.

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Maharashtra Cheif Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday gave his best wishes on this day to the people of state and urged them to increase the use of Marathi in their daily life.