July 5 protest morcha, featuring Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, cancelled after withdrawal of Hindi 'imposition' orders
Amid a growing chorus against the introduction of Hindi from classes 1 to 5, the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet decided to withdraw two GRs (government orders) on the implementation of the three-language policy.
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Indian Express
41 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Maharashtra: Academicians welcome scrapping of GRs on three language policy
Academics in Pune welcomed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's announcement of the scrapping of the two government resolutions (GRs) on three-language policy on Sunday evening. The first resolution had introduced Hindi as the compulsory third language from class 1 in Maharashtra State Board schools, while the amended second resolution gave students the option to choose any Indian language as their third language. However, the decision to introduce Hindi as a third language was met with opposition from academics, language experts, and political groups. Now, Fadnavis has announced that the GRs will be scrapped and a committee headed by Dr Narendra Jadhav will relook the issue. Laxmikant Deshmukh, the chairperson of the government-appointed Language Consultation Committee that has been strongly opposing the move, said that the government has bowed to the unity of the Marathi people. 'There was no need to introduce a third language without putting any thought into the decision. Hindi language is being taught from class 5. So, increasing the student's burden from class 1 was not required. There is also no need to form the committee and the move should have been just cancelled completely. It gives the feeling that the government still has the thought of implementing Hindi as the third language. The fear will remain,' he told The Indian Express. Vasant Kalpande, former Director of School Education of Maharashtra, said it was wrong to make such a GR in the first place. 'Now, a committee has been formed. We had recommended the same to the SCERT director today. Although the meeting had no relation to this decision (of scrapping), the decision was made parallely,' he added. Milind Joshi, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, shared a statement saying the decision is in the interest of the state and its students. ' On behalf of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, I congratulate him (Fadnavis) wholeheartedly. He was the one who had taken the initiative to make Marathi Language education compulsory. I hope that he will continue to make decisions in the interest of the Marathi language in the future,' the statement mentioned. Former head of Maharashtra School Principals Association Mahendra Ganpule told The Indian Express said that the announcement has been made to cool down the political climate that had emerged. 'But a committee has been formed under Narendra Jadhav. Who will be the members of that committee? We can say that at least for this year this crisis has been averted but the fight will have to be kept on until the decision of having a third language doesn't get completely cancelled,' he added. 7-hour marathon meet Earlier in the day, two marathon meetings stretching to 7 hours took place at the State Council Of Educational Research And Training in Pune between officials, academics and language stakeholders over the three-language issue. SCERT Director Rahul Rekhawar and Education Commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh met Deshmukh, Kalpande, Joshi, Ganpule, Deccan Education Society's Anand Katikar, former Joint director of education Bhau Gawande, former education secretary of Balbharti Dhanwanti Hardikar, who expressed their opposition to the introduction of the three-language policy. Just as the last few members of the meeting were walking out of the gate of the building at 7pm, news of Fadnavis announcing the cancellation of the GRs rolled in. Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
United News of India
42 minutes ago
- United News of India
Controversy erupts over Marathi 'manoos' in metro workers in Thane
West Thane, June 29 (UNI) Controversy over Marathi 'manoos' erupted again at ongoing metro work in Kalyan town of the district, where the security managing director has threatened employees to remove the Marathi workers from work, only then they will get their salary. Upon getting information of incident, Shiv General Kamgar Sena general secretary Harish Ingle said that he is preparing to file an official complaint by recording the conversation on his mobile phone. On the one hand, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray are taking out a joint protest against compulsory teaching of Hindi as a third language in the schools, while on the other hand, it has come to light that the locals and Marathi people are being ignored in metro work as well. UNI SP SS
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Chief minister Fadnavis rolls back Hindi govt resolutions as Opposition hits the streets in Mumbai
Mumbai: Buffeted by an anti-Hindi campaign led by the Thackeray cousins, CM Fadnavis Sunday announced that the state cabinet had decided to scrap two govt resolutions (GRs) to introduce Hindi as a third language for Class 1 students. The announcement came on a day when public protests against introducing Hindi in primary school started with Uddhav Thackeray present at a symbolic burning of the GRs at Azad Maidan. A stormy start was also expected to the monsoon session of the state legislature on Monday. The CM has set up a panel led by academic Narendra Jadhav to frame recommendations for implementing a three-language policy. "Our policy is Marathi-centric and Marathi student-centric," said the CM. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Following the announcement, the Thackerays called off a joint protest rally to be held on July 5 and instead announced a 'victory procession'. Both Sena (UBT) and MNS had described the move to start Hindi lessons in primary school as a 'linguistic imposition'. Fadnavis said the administration had only followed the recommendations of a panel set up by Uddhav govt in 2020 on adopting the National Education Policy. He said the report was accepted by Thackeray, Congress and NCP (SP). "But as usual when in power speak differently, when out of power speak differently," said the CM. "Raj Thackeray must ask Uddhav Thackeray if he gave approval then how has he set out to hold an agitation now," he added. The govt had been under pressure from its own Language Advisory Committee, which passed a resolution that no third language including Hindi be taught before Class 5. The Opposition led by the Thackeray cousins had then announced a morcha against the introduction of Hindi on July 5. Several litterateurs and celebrities had announced their decision to join the morcha as also the Congress and the NCP (SP). Defending the GR for the third language, Fadnavis said the Mashelkar committee set up during the tenure of Uddhav Thackeray submitted a 101-page report recommending such a move. The committee was led by scientist Raghunath Mashelkar and had a sub-committee which included Shiksha Vidya Prabodhini founder Vijay Kadam, a 'deputy leader' of Sena (UBT), he added. "Point number 8.1 (of the report) states English and Hindi languages should be implemented as second languages from first standard onwards. If students learn English for 12 years from first to twelfth standard, they will develop proficiency in English and be able to read necessary books. They will be prepared for engineering, medical and other technical-professional courses. While priority must be given to teaching in Marathi in higher education institutions, English and Hindi as second languages should be made compulsory from first standard to 12th. If needed, they should also be made compulsory in the 3 or 4-year degree courses of college education," said Fadnavis, quoting from the report. He said the new panel will study the Mashelkar report and engage with those opposed to the policy before making recommendations. The other members of the committee will be announced shortly and the committee will submit its report in three months, he said. Explaining the evolution of the three-language policy, he said the NEP was first adopted by Karnataka followed by MP, Telangana and UP. "On 21 Sept, 2020 then CM Uddhav Thackeray announced the setting up of an expert committee on how to apply this NEP." Fadnavis said after the report was submitted on Sept 14, 2021, it came before the cabinet on Jan 20, 2022. Its minutes were confirmed on Jan 7, 2022 and signed by CM Thackeray. There is no mention of keeping aside the three-language policy," said Fadnavis. "It is not true when some say the report was not accepted. The report was accepted and to implement it, a committee was set up to frame rules. In our tenure following the work of the committee the GRs were issued. "We issued the first GR on 16 April, 2025 mentioning Marathi as compulsory followed by English as second language and Hindi as third language. There was an uproar and a second GR was issued on 17 June 2025 and in that we said any Indian language can be studied as a third language. Marathi is compulsory. The study of a third language is not from Std I. It is only an oral study, reading and writing is from Std III. Our govt did not take the decision, we did not make Hindi compulsory, rather (we) gave the option of any Indian language," said Fadnavis. Fadnavis said when the govt issued the second GR it was made clear they wanted to implement it through consensus and the education minister had begun holding consultations. After the CM's press meet, deputy CM Ajit Pawar urged the Opposition to call off the July 5 morcha and not inconvenience people in Mumbai. "The reason for holding the morcha is no longer there," he said.
