Maharashtra Govt. Makes Hindi Compulsory in English, Marathi Medium Schools
The state government announced the three-language formula in Maharashtra’s primary schools as a part of the new curriculum implementation, under which Hindi will be introduced as a compulsory third language for students from Classes 1 to 5 starting from the 2025–26 academic session
Mumbai: A major row has erupted in Maharashtra over the state government's move to introduce Hindi as a compulsory third language in Marathi and English-medium primary schools under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. While, the opposition parties including Congress and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have opposed the Hindi language, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has justified the decision saying Hindi will be taught as it will become a bridge language in the country.
The state government on Wednesday announced the three-language formula in Maharashtra’s primary schools as a part of the new curriculum implementation, under which Hindi will be introduced as a compulsory third language for students from Classes 1 to 5 starting from the 2025–26 academic session. The decision was made public through a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the school education department.
However, MNS chief Raj Thackeray has strongly criticised the move saying Hindi is not a national language and his party will not tolerate it's compulsion in Maharashtra.
He said, “We will not allow the efforts of the Central government to 'Hindi-nize' the entire country to succeed in Maharashtra. Hindi is not a national language. It is a state language like other languages of the country. The three-language formula should be limited to government functions only, don't try to impose it on the education sector. In this country, states were formed on the basis of language and this system continued for so many years. So why has suddenly started the process of imposing the language of another state on Maharashtra? This is a violation of the principles of state structure formed on linguistic basis.”
“We are Hindus but not Hindi! If you try to paint Maharashtra as Hindi, then there is bound to be a struggle in Maharashtra. The MNS will ensure that Hindi books from the school curriculum will not be sold in shops and schools will not distribute those books to students,” Thackeray said.
Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar demanded that the state government should immediately withdraw the notification on the introduction of Hindi as a compulsory third language. “The mother tongue of Maharashtra is Marathi, but Marathi and English are used in education and administration. Forcibly imposing Hindi as a third language is an injustice to Marathi and an attack on the identity of Marathi speakers,” he said.
However, CM Fadnavis defended the state’s move and said, “In Maharashtra, everyone should know the Marathi language. Similarly, Hindi is a nationwide communication language, and hence we should also learn Hindi. If someone wants to learn English or any other language, we have not stopped them from doing so.”