Latest news with #pro-Marathi
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Hindi spoken largely in public life, learning it will benefit students: Minister
Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse on Wednesday defended the government's decision of Hindi to be taught as the third language in schools, saying it is widely used in daily communication and will help Class 12 students in higher education. The school education minister also warned of strict action against schools not teaching Marathi, as per the curriculum. The Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued an order saying Hindi will "generally" be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools in the state from classes 1 to 5. The amended government resolution (GR) said Hindi will "generally" be the third language, instead of being mandatory, and gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi. Some pro-Marathi outfits accused the government of reintroducing the policy through the "backdoor" after initially backtracking, and the opposition Congress accused the Devendra Fadnavis-led government of "stabbing" the Marathi people in the chest. Live Events Bhuse noted that while an earlier government communication used the word "mandatory" for Hindi, the revised order issued on Tuesday described it as "generally" the third language, a subtle shift which critics have flagged as ambiguous. The minister, however, defended the government's decision, saying learning Hindi will benefit students. "Learning Hindi is important because it is largely used for communication in public life," the minister told reporters here. "After the 12th standard, the Union government has given importance to scores in the third language as well. In such a policy, students from Maharashtra should not fall behind; hence the three-language policy is accepted," he said. "Hence, learning Hindi will benefit students in the long run," Bhuse said. He pointed out that Hindi is already being taught from class 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools, while in non-Marathi-medium schools, Marathi remains compulsory and English is taught as the third language. Addressing concerns over the imposition of Hindi, Bhuse said students will be given the option to choose another Indian language as the third language. "If students opt for any other language, we are making arrangements for that. If fewer students select it, the language will be taught online or through other available medium. The decision to select a third language is left to students and their parents," he added. It could help students to improve their merit, the minister said. He also said strict action would be taken against schools not teaching Marathi as per the curriculum. "If any school is found not teaching Marathi, we will issue warnings. If they fail to comply, we will take action such as cancelling the school's registration," he said. Bhuse acknowledged that several Marathi-medium schools in the state have shut down over the years and there is a decline in enrolments in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools. "It is a fact that student enrolment in many Marathi schools is on a decline. We have to accept the reality. Even schools run by municipal corporations have reported losing students to other schools. We will welcome all suggestions to improve the situation," he said. Responding to a separate query, Bhuse said the government plans to appoint around 9,000 new teachers in the next one-and-a-half months.
New Indian Express
9 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Hindi spoken largely in public life, learning it will benefit students: Maharashtra minister
MUMBAI: Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse on Wednesday defended the government's decision of Hindi to be taught as the third language in schools, saying it is widely used in daily communication and will help Class 12 students in higher education. The school education minister also warned of strict action against schools not teaching Marathi, as per the curriculum. The Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued an order saying Hindi will "generally" be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools in the state from classes 1 to 5. The amended government resolution (GR) said Hindi will "generally" be the third language, instead of being mandatory, and gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi. Some pro-Marathi outfits accused the government of reintroducing the policy through the "backdoor" after initially backtracking, and the opposition Congress accused the Devendra Fadnavis-led government of "stabbing" the Marathi people in the chest.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Satish Jarkiholi says he is preparing for a new Gokak district
The issue of the division of Belagavi district has come to the fore again with district in-charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi raising it in public fora and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying that the government is open to the idea. Speaking at a ceremony organised by a media organisation in Gokak on Saturday, Mr. Jarkiholi said that they are planning for the creation of a new Gokak district. Gokak needs a government medical college and a government engineering college. It seems it will be easy once it becomes a district, he said. 'Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has sanctioned a district hospital for Gokak. Work on the building will start soon. It will be up and running by the time a medical college can be set up,' he said. He also said that Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar has promised to sanction a government engineering college for Gokak. 'We are considering the option of starting it on a temporary premises before the building is constructed,' he said. Also, he spoke of plans to lay a cable car rope to Gokak falls at a cost of ₹50 crore to promote tourism and construct of a central library in front of the Gokak Court at a cost of ₹4 crore. Earlier also, Mr. Jarkiholi has argued for the trifurcation of the district as Belagavi, Chikkodi and Gokak, as he feels that it will be convenient for administration and will help people. A few days ago, Mr. Siddaramaiah told reporters in Gouribidanur that there have been demands for division from Belagavi. 'We will consider it after consulting legislators,' he said. The demand for a Chikkodi district is three decades old. Leaders like B.R. Sangappagol formed the Chikkodi Zilla Horata Samiti to fight for it. Sanju Badiger and Shivaraj Bolannanavar are leading the fightafter Sangappagol's death a few years ago. Then Chief Minister late J.H. Patel announced the formation of the new Chikkodi district in 1997 but dropped it after Kannada protagonists opposed it. They argued that creating a smaller district of Belagavi will lead to concentration of pro-Marathi activists in a few taluks who will then continue to demand its merger with Maharashtra. Mr. Jarkiholi says this argument does not hold good any longer as the political power of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti has waned. 'At one time, MES had five MLAs from Belagavi. Now there are none. Their hold on the Belagavi City Corporation has also reduced,' he told reporters in Belagavi last week. However, not everyone agrees. Kannada activists are not fully satisfied with the Minister's answer. They say the agitation for merger with Maharashtra is not limited to MES as other cultural organisations can raise it in future, if Marathi votes are consolidated in the new Belagavi district. The sub-divisional headquarters of Bailhongal wants to be a district also. People there want a new Bailhongal district or they don't want the division at all. They will be happy in an undivided Belagavi district, they said. Sri Rajayogindra Swami of Kalmath wants a Kittur district as it has been the seat of the Kittur kingdom headed by Channamma. Belagavi is among the biggest districts in the State with a population of over 57 lakh. It has 14 taluks, 18 Assembly seats, two MLCs and is spread across three Lok Sabha seats, Belgaum, Uttara Kannada and Chikkodi. The rural areas are governed by 506 gram panchayats, the highest in the State. The distinct in-charge Minister feels that each of the three proposed new districts will have six Assembly constituencies. The district is shaped like the English letter S and is spread in four directions across north-west Karnataka. It borders five districts in Karnataka, three in Maharashtra and one in Goa. Life is not easy for residents of villages on its border like Telsang, Kakamari or Kottalagi who have to travel 200 km to reach the district headquarters. Sanju Badiger argues that the district administration neglects far-flung areas now. 'If we have trifurcation, then we will have three Deputy Commissioners, three Superintendents of Police and three Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officers. They will be able to focus better on a smaller district. A big Belagavi district is difficult to administer,' he said.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader discontinues Marathi class for non-Marathi people due to poor response
Mumbai: In April, around the time the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was flexing its muscles—quite literally, after failing to do so politically in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections—by assaulting people for not speaking in Marathi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey came up with an idea. To ensure the MNS did not hijack the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Marathi agenda, the 44-year-old announced he would launch a free Marathi-speaking course to help non-Marathi speakers who recently moved to Mumbai. Initially, there was enthusiasm for the course, with around 1,500 registrations, according to Dubey. 'We had identified two locations in Kandivali and a third in Malad for the classes, and were planning to expand further,' he said. The first batch began in mid-April in Kandivali, a suburb with a significant north Indian population, with around 50 students. However, Dubey's initiative would eventually fall victim to a perennial issue in a city with a burgeoning population, inadequate public transport and poor road conditions—commuting time. 'After the first week, attendance went down to around 50%,' said Dubey. 'Participants said that due to their office timings or their work-related issues, they found it difficult to attend regularly. Meanwhile, many of those who registered informed us that they could attend online classes, but it was not possible to attend physically due to work- and travel-related issues.' The Marathi agenda To think that a party helmed by the son of the legendary Bal Thackeray is fighting to ensure another party does not hijack its pro-Marathi agenda is seeped in irony. The Shiv Sena was founded in 1966 by the late Bal Thackeray to address the perceived marginalisation of Marathi-speaking people in Maharashtra. Its core agenda was to promote the interests of the Marathi manoos or sons of the soil. This agenda resonated with many Marathi-speaking voters in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, as the Shiv Sena took control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 1985. Since then, it has never lost the polls to India's richest civic body. When Chhagan Bhujbal, then with the Shiv Sena, became the mayor of the city, he came up with the slogan 'Sundar Mumbai, Marathi Mumbai' (Beautiful Mumbai, Marathi Mumbai), with a commitment that the cosmopolitan metropolis with a diverse population would be seen as a city of Marathi people. The Shiv Sena has frequently reasserted this issue—of Mumbai's Marathi identity—in the last four decades. In March 2025, the issue was back on the political agenda after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi remarked that Mumbai does not have one language and that anyone coming to the city need not necessarily learn Marathi. His remark kicked up a controversy, with both the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS criticising it and using it to target the RSS and its political offshoot, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At his Gudhi Padwa rally on March 30 at Shivaji Park, MNS chief Raj Thackeray delivered a fiery speech emphasising the importance of the Marathi language and identity. He said that those who claim they cannot speak Marathi in Mumbai would 'get a slap on the face'. Immediately after the rally, there were several reported incidents of MNS workers assaulting people for not speaking Marathi, including bank and supermarket employees. The MNS's target appeared to be north Indians, the second-largest linguistic group in Mumbai after Marathis. Ever since it was formed in 2006, the party has had a history of aggressive rhetoric and violence against north Indian Hindi-speaking migrants in Maharashtra. It was in this backdrop that Dubey, who was born in Varanasi before his family moved to Mumbai when he was four, announced a Marathi-speaking course for non-Marathi people. The course was to be one month long and free. Dubey, who started his political journey with the Congress before joining the Shiv Sena in 2019, urged non-Marathi speakers to register for the course. He put up hoardings in Kandivali saying, 'Don't be afraid. Let's speak Marathi. Let's respect Marathi.' He also circulated a message on social media slamming the MNS for beating non-Marathi people for not knowing Marathi, but doing nothing to help them. There's no doubt the timing of Dubey's initiative was opportune, with the BMC elections expected to be held for the first time since 2017 after the monsoon. Following the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and a debacle in the 2024 assembly polls, the BMC elections could be make or break for the Shiv Sena (UBT). Party chief Uddhav Thackeray is keen to get the support of north Indians living in Mumbai. Dubey launched the Marathi-speaking course in Kandivali, where he's based. He appointed teachers who used to teach Marathi subjects in schools. Initially, it received a good response, with around 1,500 people registering. Accordingly, in the third week of April, the classes started, with the first batch of around 50. Most of the participants were north Indians, including shop owners, auto-taxi drivers, salesmen, employees of private companies and a couple of highly educated engineers. The challenges However, after the first week, attendance started dwindling as participants found it difficult to attend the class physically. Some participants also left the batch midway as they went to their hometowns for the summer vacations, Dubey said. As a result, the second batch could not start. Gulab Maurya, 42, a private sector employee from Dahisar who attended the first batch, said it was a good initiative and benefited him personally. 'The teacher, Rahul Jadhav, taught us communication skills in Marathi. First, he taught us similarities between Hindi and Marathi and then taught us words and sentences required in public places. After the first week, people started dropping out as some of them went on vacation, and some had work-related issues. At the end of the month, around 25 people completed the course. It gave me confidence that I can speak basic Marathi at office places and public places,' said Maurya. Lalu Yadav, 28, who runs a fruit stall in Dahisar, said that the class tenure should be around three months so that people can learn better. 'It was a good course to learn communication skills in Marathi. It was for one month, but I feel that it should be for around three months so that people can learn properly. Some people are quick in learning another language, but most people need time for it. Many people were demanding an online class, but I personally feel physical attendance is a better way to learn,' said Yadav. Dubey has discontinued the course for now, but said he would revive it if there is still demand for it. 'I am willing to restart it at any point in time,' he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Harshal Pradhan said the initiative had the party's support and was not a political move. 'Teaching Marathi to non-Marathi people is not a political event for us. It's a social service started by Dubey, and the party supports it. It would be continued as per the demand by people,' he said. However, the MNS's Mumbai president, Sandeep Deshpande, dismissed the initiative. 'It was nothing but a political stunt by Dubey. Those who want to speak Marathi learn it from other sources, and they don't need Dubey's class,' he said. Whether Deshpande changes his stance if the estranged cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray do reunite after two decades, as has been the subject of growing speculation in the last couple of months, remains to be seen.
India Today
08-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Raj Thackeray criticises Operation Sindoor, Devendra Fadnavis dismisses remarks
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray slammed the Centre's handling of the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, sparking a war of words with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra questioned the effectiveness of 'Operation Sindoor' and cited the US response to 9/11, urging India to track down and eliminate individual perpetrators rather than relying on broad military actions or mock also took a dig at the Prime Minister's public appearances in Bihar, Kerala and Mumbai, soon after the attack, asking if political events were being prioritised over national security. Fadnavis dismissed Thackeray's comments, saying such remarks weren't worth engaging with during a national crisis. He also hit out at Congress leaders who questioned India's Rafale capabilities, calling them 'idiots.'The exchange has intensified speculation around a MNS's potential alliance with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) for upcoming municipal polls, especially in the 2024 assembly elections, MNS failed to win any of the 125 seats it contested, including the high profile loss of party's young scion, and Raj Thackeray's son Amit in Mahim. With a vote share of just 1.55 per cent, the party risks losing its official the poor showing, the MNS played spoiler in Mumbai by splitting the Marathi vote — an outcome that ended up helping Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) in several ahead of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other local polls, MNS is expected to sharpen its pro-Marathi focus and push civic issues like infrastructure and water Raj and Uddhav Thackeray have exchanged warm public signals recently, fuelling talk of a possible tie-up. But political observers say the MNS will need more than just alliances — it must rebuild its ground strength and widen its base to stay politically relevant. IN THIS STORY#Maharashtra
