Mumbai, April 19: In a significant development, estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on Saturday signalled a willingness to set aside their past differences and unite for the larger cause of protecting Maharashtra’s interests and preserving the Marathi language.

Uddhav Thackeray, who leads the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Raj Thackeray, founder of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), voiced strong opposition to the MahaYuti government’s decision to make Hindi a compulsory subject from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools.

Both leaders, speaking on separate platforms, suggested they were open to collaboration on issues crucial to the state’s identity and culture — particularly at a time when Marathi has been granted classical language status by the BJP-led central government.

In an interview with actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar, Raj Thackeray said, “The disputes and fights between Uddhav and me are minor — Maharashtra is much bigger than all that. These differences are proving costly for the existence of Maharashtra and the Marathi people.”

He added, “Coming together is not difficult, it’s a matter of will. It’s not just about my desire or selfishness. We need to look at the bigger picture. All Marathi people across political parties should unite and form a single party.”

Raj Thackeray further distinguished his past political decisions from the rebellion led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “I left Shiv Sena when MLAs and MPs were with me. Even then, I chose to walk alone because I couldn’t work under anyone except Balasaheb Thackeray. I had no objection to working with Uddhav. The question is — does the other side have the will to work with me?”

“If Maharashtra wants us to come together, let Maharashtra speak up. I don’t let my ego get in the way of such matters,” he said.

Responding at a Bhartiya Kamgar Sena function, Uddhav Thackeray expressed similar sentiments. “I’m ready to put aside petty disputes. I appeal to all Marathi people to unite in the interest of Maharashtra. But there is a condition — when we pointed out in Parliament that industries were being shifted to Gujarat, if we had united then, we could have formed a government that worked for Maharashtra. We cannot keep switching sides — supporting them one day, opposing them the next, and then compromising again.”

“Anyone who acts against Maharashtra’s interests — I will not welcome them, invite them home, or sit with them. Let this be clear first, and then let us work together for Maharashtra,” he asserted.

MNS general secretary Sandeep Deshpande welcomed the tone of reconciliation but posed a key question — “Raj Thackeray rightly asked — does the other party truly want to come together? Until that is clear, the conversation is incomplete. We all want what’s best for Maharashtra. But do others feel the same way?”

Echoing the sentiment, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve said, “As a Marathi manoos, it’s important for all forces to unite. Whether it is Uddhav or Raj, both are brothers. The political context may differ, but at the end of the day, the bond remains. There are many who are willing to mediate in this matter.”

New Delhi, April 19: A powerful earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale struck Afghanistan on Saturday afternoon at 12:17 pm IST, as reported by the National Center for Seismology (NCS).

The quake’s epicentre was located at 36.10 degrees North latitude and 71.20 degrees East longitude, with a depth of 130 kilometres. Tremors from the earthquake were felt across several northern regions of India, including Jammu & Kashmir and the Delhi-NCR area.

While there have been no immediate reports of damage or injuries, authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation.

The NCS confirmed the seismic activity via a post on social media platform X.

“EQ of M: 5.8, On: 19/04/2025 12:17:53 IST, Lat: 36.10 N, Long: 71.20 E, Depth: 130 Km, Location: Afghanistan,” NCS said in a post on X.

This event follows a similar tremor that occurred earlier in the week. On Wednesday, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Afghanistan, with its epicentre approximately 164 km east of Baghlan.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) initially reported the quake as 6.4 in magnitude but later revised it to 5.6.

In a related development, the Kishtwar region of Jammu & Kashmir also experienced a mild earthquake measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale on Wednesday morning around 5:14 AM IST.

The tremor occurred at a shallow depth of 5 kilometres.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) highlights that Afghanistan is extremely susceptible to natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and seasonal floods.

UNOCHA also pointed out that the frequent seismic activity in the region severely impacts already fragile communities, which have endured years of conflict and underdevelopment.

These conditions have significantly weakened their capacity to handle multiple crises at once. According to the Red Cross, Afghanistan has a long history of experiencing powerful earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush region, which is known for its intense geological activity and frequent tremors.

The country lies along several major fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. One of these fault lines passes directly through Herat, increasing the area’s risk of seismic events.

Imphal, April 19: The Manipur government has launched a drive to verify the licensed arms and asked all the district administrations to examine the papers of the arms license holders and arms dealers, officials said on Saturday.

A senior official said that the Commissioner (Home) has, in an urgent circular, asked the Deputy Commissioners of all 16 districts to take steps to verify the papers of arms license holders and arms dealers in their respective districts.

Accordingly, all the Deputy Commissioners directed the arms license holders and arms dealers to submit their papers in their nearest or respective police stations on or before April 25.

“Non-compliance with the orders may lead to penalisation and cancellation of arms license,” the official said, referring to the circular of the Commissioner (Home). Till March 6, around 1,000 looted and illegally held weapons, including many sophisticated arms, and a huge cache of ammunition, have been returned to the security forces since Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla appealed for the first time on February 20.

The initiative to recover the looted and illegally held arms began on May 31, 2023, when former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh made an appeal to all concerned to surrender the firearms looted from security forces and police armouries.

Officials said that before Singh’s resignation as Chief Minister on February 9, a total of 3,422 firearms had been voluntarily surrendered to the authorities and police stations in different districts.

Various official reports, political parties claimed that during the ethnic riots, which broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, over 6,020 varied types of sophisticated arms and lakhs of different types of ammunition were looted from the police stations and police outposts by the mobs, attackers and militants.