Order making Hindi 'generally' 3rd language for primary classes sparks row in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Government has issued an order, making Hindi "generally" the third language, and not mandatory, for students of Class I to V, who are studying in English and Marathi medium schools in the state.

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According to an amended government resolution (GR) order issued on Tuesday, Hindi will "generally" be the third language, but a school may opt out if 20 students in a class express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi.

"Those who wish to learn any other language as an option to Hindi, should meet the expectation of 20 students from each standard in a school. In such a situation, a teacher for that particular language will be made available or the language will be taught online. Meanwhile, Marathi will be a compulsory language in all medium schools," the order stated.

The order stirred a row and invited criticism from the Congress and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray. Strongly criticising the resolution, Thackeray asked the government what was the need to "impose" Hindi on students and appealed to schools to foil the government's "hidden agenda to deliberately create a language divide".

He asserted that Hindi was the state language of some northern states and it was wrong to force it on Maharashtra, where Marathi is widely used. If the government puts pressure on schools, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will stand by them like a "rock", Thackeray said at a press conference, and demanded that the previous two-language formula of English and Marathi be continued.

"The New Education Policy doesn't say Hindi should be a mandatory language in schools, but leaves the decision on state governments on the basis of what local people want. In Gujarat, there is no three-language formula and Hindi is not compulsory in schools there," Thackeray said.

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said the fresh government order on the three-language formula was a "planned plot" to impose Hindi and accused the ruling Mahayuti of deceiving people.

"Hindi will be the compulsory third language. If any other language is to be learned, the requirement is for at least 20 students, It's a show of giving an alternative and the planned plot to impose Hindi. This is the BJP's anti-Maharashtra agenda and a conspiracy to eliminate the Marathi language, identity and 0people," Sapkal alleged in a post on X.

On April 22, minister Bhuse had said that Hindi would no longer be compulsory in Classes 1 to 5.

However, calling the entire controversy as "unnecessary", Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that the "compulsion" for students to learn Hindi had been removed, and now any Indian language could be chosen as the third language.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, Fadnavis said, "We had earlier made Hindi compulsory, but in the GR issued yesterday, that compulsion has been removed. As per the new GR, students can opt for any Indian language as the third language." The three-language formula was proposed in the NEP. According to the policy, the mother tongue is mandatory, and apart from that, students will learn two other languages, one of which should be an Indian language, he said.