Fresh political backlash has erupted over the Maharashtra government’s order on Tuesday. The order stipulated Hindi to be taught as the ‘general’ third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools in the state from classes 1 to 5. Drawing criticism from Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Raj Thackeray.
The revised government resolution (GR) stated that Hindi will “generally” serve as the third language, though it would not be mandatory, as the GR provides a provision for schools to offer any alternate Indian language, given that at least 20 students per grade request it.
The directive also mandates that in schools following other mediums of instruction, the three-language formula must include the medium languages, Marathi and English. Marathi will remain a compulsory language in all medium schools, the GR said.
Those who wish to learn any other language as an alternative 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,” the order stated.
Maharashtra School Education Department issued the GR on Tuesday as part of the implementation of the ‘State Curriculum Framework for School Education 2024’, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Contradictory move, say critics
Critics claimed the government’s latest move contradicts earlier statements made by State School Education Minister Dada Bhuse that Hindi would not be mandatory for the primary classes.
Earlier this year, the State government faced widespread backlash for its proposal to introduce Hindi from Class 1.
On April 22, Mr Bhuse said Hindi would no longer be compulsory in Classes 1 to 5.
However, at a public event in Pune last month, the Minister had publicly acknowledged the backlash, saying that many parents had recommended starting Hindi as a language from Class 3 instead. “We will take these suggestions into account before making a final decision,” he had assured.
He also said at the time that the three-language formula was “on hold” and schools would continue with the existing two-language system for now.
Opposition launches strong protest
As the latest order appears to contradict that assurance, it has prompted a new wave of opposition.
Multiple pro-Marathi outfits accused the government of reintroducing the policy through the “backdoor” after initially backtracking, and the opposition Congress, headed by Harshwardhan Sapkal, accused the Devendra Fadnavis-led government of “stabbing” the Marathi people in the chest.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday asked what was the need to “impose” Hindi on students and appealed to schools in Maharashtra to foil the government’s “hidden agenda to deliberately create a language divide”.
He said the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 doesn’t say Hindi should be a mandatory language in schools, but leaves the decision to state governments on the basis of what local people want.
“I don’t understand the politics behind this,” the MNS leader said, wondering whether the IAS lobby of Maharashtra was behind the move so that they don’t need to know Marathi.
If the government pressures the schools, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will stand by them like a “rock”, Thackeray said at a press conference here and demanded that the previous two-language formula of English and Marathi be continued.”The government will be responsible for the consequences. If it thinks this is a challenge from us, so be it,” said Thackeray, whose party has been stressing the use of Marathi language in banks and other commercial establishments.
Thackeray said that apart from the school management and principals, he will also be writing to the government to withdraw its fresh order. Marathi will cease to exist shortly, he claimed, adding that people of the state, irrespective of whether they are Marathi-speaking or not, should oppose the government’s decision. In Gujarat, there is no three-language formula and Hindi is not compulsory in schools, Thackeray said.
Hindi is the state language of some northern states, and it is wrong to force it on Maharashtra, where Marathi is widely used, he asserted.