Hindi not a must in Maharashtra

THE Maharashtra government’s decision to scrap teaching of Hindi as the third language in primary classes comes amid the estranged Thackeray cousins joining forces against the move, and opposition within the ruling Mahayuti ranks. A panel would now determine from which class the three-language policy should be implemented and outline the options for students. “Our policy,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “remains Marathi-centric and Marathi student-centric.” The Maha Vikas Aghadi regime led by Uddhav Thackeray, he claimed, had accepted the three-language formula report of the Mashelkar committee without questioning it. Denying it, Uddhav termed the rollback a victory for the Marathi manoos. The objection, he said, was to the forced imposition of Hindi, not the language itself.