Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Apr 21: Amid mounting controversy and political backlash over reports of Hindi being made a compulsory subject in Classes 1 to 5 in English and Marathi medium schools, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has firmly denied any imposition of the language. In a clear statement, Fadnavis reassured that only Marathi will remain compulsory under the New Education Policy (NEP), and there will be no mandatory enforcement of Hindi.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said, “Hindi has not been made mandatory in place of Marathi. Only Marathi is compulsory. The NEP recommends learning three languages, of which two must be Indian. We’ve ensured that one of those is Marathi. The second Indian language can be Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, or any other.”
Fadnavis elaborated that the state’s steering committee suggested Hindi as the third language only because sufficient trained teachers are already available for it. “The committee felt that choosing Hindi would not require recruitment of additional teachers, unlike other Indian languages. However, there is no forceful imposition. If schools want to offer other languages, we welcome it,” he said.
He clarified that if students wish to study languages other than Hindi, they will be permitted to do so. “If at least 20 students opt for another Indian language, a teacher will be provided. If not, then online or alternate methods of teaching will be adopted. Teachers for certain languages are also available in border areas through bilingual systems,” he added.
In a pointed comment on the linguistic debate, Fadnavis said, “It is unfortunate that we oppose Hindi, an Indian language, while glorifying English. We must ask ourselves why English feels familiar while our own Indian languages seem distant.”
The clarification comes in the wake of strong opposition from political parties. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has vowed to resist any move to make Hindi compulsory. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has threatened agitation if the decision is not rolled back.
The Congress has accused the BJP-led state government of attempting to marginalize Marathi language, identity and culture under the pretext of the NEP. Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) warned the state not to undermine Marathi in the name of policy implementation.
Meanwhile, the state’s language consultation committee has also weighed in on the matter. Committee chief Laxmikant Deshmukh has urged the Chief Minister to revoke the decision to promote Hindi as a third language. He alleged that the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) pushed forward the decision without taking the committee’s recommendations into account.
As the debate continues, the government stands firm on its stance that there is no attempt to sideline Marathi, and that student choice remains central in selecting the third language under the NEP framework.