Maharashtra government orders change in writing style of two Marathi letters

The Maharashtra government has ordered that letters 'La' and 'Sha' in the Marathi language, that have "Hindi influence" currently, will be written in a certain way in the Devanagri script, an official said on Sunday.

The changes will be applicable in all government communication as well as textbooks recommended by the state education board, he said.

"The letters 'La' and 'Sha' are written in a different way currently. This style has influence of Hindi. The state government has now decided through an order that it will be written in the Devanagari script," he explained.

The state government appointed committee for language has also recommended the usage of a 'chandrabindu', one of various linguistic symbols called diacritics, to indicate the nasal pronunciation of a vowel, the official added.

There are 36 consonants and 16 initial vowels in Marathi in the Devanagari script, a writing system used by more than 120 languages.