Ruling, Opp parties in Maharashtra trade barbs over mandatory Hindi from Class 1 to 5

Indian Express

5 hours ago

Ruling and opposition political parties in Maharashtra traded barbs over the three-language formula to be implemented in the state and the issue of making Hindi mandatory for Class 1 to 5 students. The opposition warned that such a move threatens the cultural and linguistic identity of the state.
Speaking to reporters in Dehu near Pune, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, 'Earlier, we had made it mandatory to learn Hindi. Now we have removed the word mandatory. Now we have said that students can learn any other third Indian language. The three-language formula is as per the NEP (National Education Policy).'
Fadnavis was in the temple town to witness the Sant Tukaram Maharaj palkhi (palanquin) begin its journey to Pandharpur as part of the annual Pandharpur Wari festival.
Fadnavis said that as per the NEP, learning the mother tongue was mandatory, besides two other languages, including one Indian language. 'English is acceptable to all. The third will be any other Indian language. Earlier, we had said that the third language should be Hindi. Now we have removed the 'mandatory' clause. Students can learn any other third language, but there should be 20 students in a class. We will provide teachers. We will also provide online teaching,' he said.
'We are backing English but hating Indian languages. This is not appropriate. Indian languages are better than English…,' Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray strongly criticised the state over the alleged imposition of Hindi in schools across Maharashtra, warning that such a move threatens the cultural and linguistic identity of the state.
Speaking at a press conference, Thackeray revealed that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier assured him that the decision to introduce Hindi from Class 1 would be rolled back. However, Thackeray claimed that the issue has resurfaced, prompting him to address it for the third time.
'Why is Hindi being forced only in Maharashtra? Are you going to teach Marathi as the third language in Bihar or elsewhere in the country,' questioned Thackeray. 'If the central government has left language policy to the states, then why is there pressure to impose Hindi here?'
Citing an example from Gujarat, Thackeray noted that schools there have made Gujarati, Mathematics, and English compulsory from the first grade, without enforcing Hindi. 'When Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are at the helm, and there is no such compulsion in Gujarat, why is Maharashtra being singled out,' he asked.
Thackeray also called upon writers, intellectuals, and the media to question the government's language policy. 'This is not about politics. My stand is for the children, for the schools, and for the future of Maharashtra,' he asserted.
Opposition Congress slammed the government saying the latter was merely playing with words. 'This is a part of RSS strategy of imposing Hindi on all regions and destroying the regional culture,' said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal. He said that the party is not opposing the language but the imposition of it on students at a time when all linguists, scientists have been vocal against such a move. 'We demand the immediate withdrawal of it,' he said.
Another opposition NCP-SP leader and party's state president Jayant Patil said that his party opposes the imposition of Hindi. 'It should be optional. It should not be imposed,' said Patil.
MNS chief has written a letter to school principals advising them to not push forward the agenda of the state government on pushing Hindi where he warned that his workers will pay a visit for discussion. Former MLC from teachers' constituency and Congress leader Kapil Patil slammed Thackeray for threatening teachers for the actions of the state government.