Is Hindi mandatory in Maharashtra schools? What the order says and why it’s controversial

The Maharashtra government’s order making Hindi ‘generally’ the third language, for students of Classes 1 to 5, has triggered a sharp political outcry with opposition alleging that the new policy is a quiet push to make Hindi mandatory in schools.

Although the revised third language policy gives an option to opt out if 20 students per class choose to study any other Indian language other than Hindi, critics have accused the government of ‘reintroducing mandatory Hindi policy’ through the ‘backdoor’.

The Maharashtra School Education Department issued the government resolution (GR) as part of the implementation of the 'State Curriculum Framework for School Education 2024', in line with the National Education Policy (NEP 2020). According to the amended GR, Hindi will ‘generally’ be the third language for students from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English medium schools.

It clarified that Marathi will be a compulsory language in all medium schools.

Timeline of the Hindi language controversy

On September 9, 2024, the Maharashtra’s State Steering Committee decided to make Hindi as the third language in schools, in line with the NEP 2020, which mandates a three-language policy. The move received widespread criticism from opposition parties and others.

On April 16, the state school education minister Dadaji Bhuse clarified that ‘Marathi will remain core’. Explaining the state government’s decision, he said, on April 22, Hindi and Marathi share almost the same Devanagari script, making it easier for teachers to teach and students to learn. He also indicated that students will have an option to choose another Indian language and in such cases, the policy will be amended and other language teachers will have to be recruited.

A couple of days before his statement, on April 20, the Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the reporters that the government will amend the language policy to allow students to choose other Indian languages.

Last month, the minister had said, "The decision to introduce Hindi from Class 1 as a third language was taken earlier. However, many parents have suggested it be introduced from Class 3 instead. We will consider these suggestions before taking any further decision."

On June 17, an amended government resolution (GR) order was issued, which stated Hindi will ‘generally’ be the third language, rather than mandatory.

Also read Maharashtra won’t fully adopt CBSE curriculum, Hindi not compulsory: Dadaji Bhuse clarifies

Hindi imposition in Maharashtra schools

The latest government order drew sharp criticism from the opposition party, Congress, and MNS president Raj Thackeray.

“There is no question of making Hindi compulsory. Because Hindi is not the national language. It is a language spoken in some northern provinces, so in a sense it is a state language. In the states where it is spoken, there are many local languages, which are starting to come under the sway of Hindi and there is a fear that the local dialects there will disappear over time,” Thackeray said.

Commenting on the opt-out option provided by the government, Vasant Kalpande, the former chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) stated that the schools are unlikely to find 20 students in a class opting for non-Hindi as a third language.

Criticising the education minister’s statement about recruiting teachers for online classes if students choose other languages as the third option, Kalpande said it is an attempt to discourage opting for any other language than Hindi.

If Hindi is not mandatory, why are critics opposing it?

“The government said that only two languages will be taught from class one. But where is the written order? If one has been published, we haven’t seen it yet. A government good at playing around with documents, will play with this one as well. Then our question is, if the children do not want to learn a third language, then why are textbooks getting printed, as noticed by my Maharashtra Sainiks. This means that the government is planning to impose the language discreetly. Your schools should not cooperate with this,” Thackeray said in a lengthy post on X.

“The government’s effort to impose the language on children must be thwarted. This is not only damaging to the children but damaging to the Marathi language as well,” he added.

Echoing similar concerns, Deepak Pawar of the Mumbai-based Marathi Bhasha Abhyas Kendra, working to preserve the Marathi language, said: “This (latest GR) is nothing but the backdoor imposition of Hindi.”

While some Marathi advocates accused the state government of quietly introducing Hindi as a mandatory subject, the Congress accused Fadnavis of "stabbing the Marathi people in the chest”.

Also read Madhya Pradesh’s Hindi MBBS books have few takers in medical colleges despite much publicity

Maharashtra CM’s take on Hindi imposition

Amid the growing controversy, the chief minister stated that the three-language policy proposed by the NEP makes it mandatory for students to learn their mother tongue, along with the options to study two other languages, one of which must be an Indian language.

"Naturally, many people choose English as one of the three languages," Fadnavis said. "Indian languages are better than English. I understand that English is a language of communication, but because of the NEP, Marathi has become a language of knowledge. We have started teaching engineering in Marathi, something that wasn't done earlier," Fadnavis stated.

"Our doctors are now receiving education in Marathi. MBA course is also being taught in Marathi. Because of the NEP, Marathi is becoming a global language, a language of knowledge and economics, and the Maharashtra government has adopted this move. I believe such disputes over languages are unnecessary," the CM maintained.

X reactions

An X user, The Right Indian, wrote: “Only 14% of Maharashtra’s population can speak in #English! Vs About 52% can speak in #Hindi. Now, since we all agree that MARATHI MUST BE COMPULSARY and everyone MUST learn Marathi, For people of Maharashtra who want to go out of state for work etc, what common language will work?”

Another user, Local Mumbaikar, wrote on X: “Can Gujarat bring in 3rd language as Kannada, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali, Bhojpuri? If yes then Maharashtra can go ahead with Third language as Hindi. Plus career wise Hindi will bear no fruits when students go abroad in Europe, USA, Australia. Already State Level teachers are not paid.”