Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray on Wednesday appealed to state School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse to issue a written order “as soon as possible” stating that only two languages, Marathi and English, would be taught from the first grade and Hindi would not be made compulsory as third language.
“We have information that based on the earlier decision to teach three languages, including Hindi, the printing of Hindi language textbooks has already begun. Now that the books have been printed, is the government planning to backtrack on its own decision? I assume there is no such plan, but if something like this happens, the government will be responsible for the agitation that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will launch,” the MNS chief said.
“Many states in the country have adopted only two languages from the first grade and rejected the imposition of Hindi, the reason being their linguistic identity. You (addressing Bhuse) and your fellow Cabinet members are also Marathi by birth; when will you act like the leaders of other states who oppose Hindi and protect the identity of your language, and how will you nurture it? We expect the government to show the same strong sense of identity as those other states,” he said.
For the past nearly two months, there has been confusion regarding the teaching of the Hindi language starting from the first grade in Maharashtra.
Initially, it was announced that students would be taught three languages from the first grade, with Hindi being the third mandatory language. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena raised its voice against this, which led to the formation of strong public sentiment.
“This public sentiment was so intense that the government declared that Hindi would not be made mandatory as the third language,” Raj Thackeray said.
“Fundamentally, Hindi is not a national language; it is just one of the languages spoken in other states of the country. Why was there an insistence on making it mandatory to learn? It is unclear why the government was wavering under some pressure. However, the core issue remains: why force children to learn three languages from first grade?
“Regarding this, you also announced that in schools following the Maharashtra State Education Board curriculum, only two languages would be taught from the first grade. But why has the written order for this announcement not been issued yet?” asked Thackeray.
His letter comes at a time when the government has backtracked on its move to make Hindi language compulsory after Marathi and English in Classes 1 to 5 amid strong opposition from various stakeholders.
Although Mr Bhuse last month announced that the government would take a decision on making Hindi a third language compulsory after talks, it has not yet issued any government notification.
