Ajit Pawar Defends Decision of Compulsory Hindi in Primary Schools
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and allies defend the move under the New Education Policy, while opposition parties argue Marathi should be prioritised
Mumbai: As the row over the Mahayuti Government’s decision to introduce Hindi as a compulsory third language in Marathi and English-medium primary schools escalated in Maharashtra, BJP has found support in deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar of NCP, who criticised the opposition parties for “creating unnecessary controversy for lack of real issues.”
Mr. Pawar said in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Friday that while all three languages – Marathi, Hindi and English – are important, Marathi is our mother tongue and will always be given first priority in the state. He accused the opposition parties saying they are raking up unnecessary controversies due to lack of real issues.
“Some people are creating controversy over the Hindi language because they have nothing else to do. English is widely used across the country and similarly Hindi is spoken in many states. Though there is a controversy on whether Hindi is the national language or not, I do not want to get into that,” the DCM said.
In a departure from the practice of studying two languages, the Mahayuti government has 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 Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has also defended the New Education Policy. Party leader Sanjay Nirupam said, “The policy should be respected as it will make the Marathi students well-versed with all three languages - Marathi, Hindi and English.”
However, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has alleged that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is using language to play politics in the state. Senior party leader Sanjay Saut said Marathi is the state language and there is no need to teach Hindi here. He said, "Mr Fadnavis wants to play language politics. Marathi is the state language here. First, make Marathi compulsory. Marathi language should be respected in employment, industry and commerce.”
Mr. Raut argued that the Hindi film industry is centred in Mumbai. "We all sing Hindi songs and watch Hindi films. Yet you are trying to impose and teach us Hindi. States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, or the North-East, need Hindi. Do it [make Hindi compulsory] there. In Maharashtra, Marathi should be spoken first,” he added.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray has strongly criticised the move saying Hindi is not a national language and his party will not tolerate its compulsion in Maharashtra.