MUMBAI, July 4 -- Hundreds of shopkeepers and traders at Mira Road took to the streets on Thursday to protest an assault by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers on the owner of a sweet mart, for not speaking in Marathi. Shops in large parts of Mira Road were also shut as part of the protest. The assault on Babulal Khimaji Chaudhary, 48, owner of Jodhpur Sweet Mart, took place on June 29. Protesting traders on Thursday assembled in the Shanti Park area, fearing they would be targeted next as many of them are Gujaratis and Marwadis, and are not conversant in Marathi. The traders said that even though their home state was not Maharashtra, they had been living in Mira-Bhayander for decades. "It is not that we do not respect Maharashtra and Marathi," said Karan Rajput, member of the local shopkeepers' association. BJP leader and culture minister Ashish Shelar said, "The ruling parties respect the Marathi language but that does not mean anybody will be allowed to take the law into their hands."...