The Maharashtra school education department has now made Hindi a mandatory third language in both Marathi and English-medium schools in classes 1 to 5 under the new curriculum framework for School Education, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. While the government says this move is meant to kick-start the vision of a multilingual classroom, opposition has slammed it on grounds of Hindi imposition on the State.
The State School Education Department, on April 16, 2025, issued a Government Resolution (GR), mentioning the phase-wise implementation of the new curriculum based on NEP 2020 recommendations. Hindi as a third language will be compulsory from Class 1 to 5 from the next academic year. The new syllabus as per NEP will be implemented for Class 1 in 2025-26. For Classes 2, 3, 4, and 6, the policy will be implemented in 2026-27, for Classes 5, 9, and 11 from 2027-28, and for Classes 8, 10, and 12 from 2028-29, the GR said.
Old language policy vs new policy
Until now, only Marathi and English have been mandatory from Classes 1 – 10. While Marathi was always an integral part, English was introduced as a compulsory subject around the year 2000, 25 years ago.
As of now, Hindi is already compulsory from Class 5 in government schools. Hindi is taught for Classes 5, 6, and 7. From Class 8 onwards, Hindi can either be continued or replaced with Sanskrit or a foreign language. “Hindi has already been part of the curriculum”, said Mr. Rekhawar.
According to the government, Hindi is now being introduced at an earlier stage. It seeks to align curriculum objectives and competencies designed according to the SCF-FS.
Maharashtra State Board also runs schools in multiple mediums like Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Gujrat, Urdu, Hindi and Telugu and textbooks for these are developed by Balbharti. In all these schools, Marathi and English are already compulsory along with their language of medium as first language. So, from Class 1, students have been learning three languages. “While the student strength in these schools may be low, this multilingual setup is not new in Maharashtra”, said Rekhawar.
Deepak Pawar, President of the Marathi Study Centre, raised concerns regarding the government’s move to make Hindi a compulsory subject from Class 1. He questions the need to introduce an additional language when it is already a multilingual classroom with Marathi and English subjects. “If a new language is at all to be introduced, why is the plan not extended to all Indian languages instead of Hindi?” he said.
He also points out that the introduction of an extra language could mean the elimination of an existing subject. “They definitely won’t remove subjects like Mathematics and Science. It would be a social science subject, which the government doesn’t deem important”, he said.
Why This Change?
The government is making many cases to support the move. They cite better cognitive development, ease in learning due to similarities in Hindi and Marathi languages, no need for extra teaching resources, and more. “Hindi is not a new language in Maharashtra, and even children are familiar with the language due to available exposure through various means”, said Mr. Rekhawar.
Mr. Rekhawar said that the school education department is strong in its support for regional language education at the foundational stage, as mentioned in the NEP. “The status of Marathi in Maharashtra will not at all be reduced or compromised in any sense”, he said.
He further said that since Hindi and Marathi share the same script, it won’t be a burden for students to learn Hindi. Students will only have to work on their vocabulary. He rather thinks that learning Hindi will also support Marathi Language skills. While drafting the textbooks, they ensured that the sequence of the alphabet for Marathi and Hindi is also same to avoid confusion among students. Mr. Rekhawar also said that the difficulty level of Hindi will not be advanced and it will be of second language level, so students won’t feel pressured.
Rekhawar said that studies and experts show that multiple languages can be learned relatively easily at a young age. It boosts cognitive development. “This move only has the best interests of students in mind”, he said.
Explaining why Hindi was chosen and not any other language, Mr. Rekhawar said that it is more feasible in implementation, and is only a kick-start step to make classrooms multilingual. “Hindi works for now because no new teachers are needed, and current teachers are competent enough to teach Hindi. It is a win-win situation”, he said.
Mr. Rekhawar also cited plans to introduce foreign languages from Class 6 onwards. For the same, a group of self-motivated teachers is currently being trained in German. They will soon be taking level 2 German exams and will continue studying it in order to be sufficiently prepared for teaching the language in classroom.
Mr. Rekhawar spoke about the flexibility offered from Class 6. Students will have the option to choose one/two languages as a third language with each subject carrying 100/50 marks.
What is the opposition saying?
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray opposed this saying his party will ensure this is not implemented. “I want to make it clear that MNS will not tolerate this decision. We will not allow the central government’s current efforts to ‘Hindi-fy’ everything to succeed in this state,” Thackeray said in a post on X.
He added, “Hindi is not a national language. It is a state language like other languages in the country. Why should it be taught in Maharashtra from the very beginning? Whatever your trilingual formula is, limit it to government affairs; do not bring it to education.”
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the move goes against Marathi pride. “There would have been no problem if Hindi were an optional language. But making it mandatory will hurt Marathi sentiments. Can we demand Marathi as a third language in Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh?” Wadettiwar said.
Wadettiwar said that the states have been created by linguistic reorganisation. Priority should be given to the local language, and Hindi should have been made optional. Mr. Thackeray also said the very principle of linguistic regionalisation is being undermined.”
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state has already implemented the NEP. Marathi has already been made compulsory. “Hindi should also be learnt as it is a means of communication in the entire country”, he said.
Political implications
Shraddha Kumbhojkar, Professor and Head, Department of History, SPPU, says that the Rashtra Bhasha Samiti, which promotes Hindi, has its offices in Maharashtra, including one in Sadashiv Peth in Pune. “Students appear for Hindi proficiency exams conducted under the aegis of the Samiti. They are, however, not primary school students. Students around Class 6 learn here voluntarily, it is not a compulsion like the recent policy”, she said.
Prof. Kumbhojkar says that there has been politics in Maharashtra that opposed other languages, but it wasn’t directed at Hindi until the 21st century. She recollects that during Bal Thackrey’s time, there was opposition to Tamilians migrating to Maharashtra as they knew English and could take jobs in the state. “Opposition to Hindi has been prominent since MNS came into the picture”, she said.
Prof. Kumbhojkar says Mumbai has always been a multicultural city, and there is a Bambaiyya version of Hindi which contributes to enriching the flavours of the Hindi language.
Mr. Pawar spoke about the demographic changes taking place across Maharashtra due to large-scale migration from the North Indian states. He says this migration is visible across regions like Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Raigad, the entire Konkan belt, as well as in Western Maharashtra, Marathwada, and Khandesh.
Mr. Pawar says that this policy is an attempt by the government to please north Indians who have settled in the state fifteen years ago and acquired domicile in Maharashtra. “These individuals may be pursuing higher education, including M.A. degrees in Hindi, and are looking for jobs here. Is this an employment guarantee scheme for them?” he says.
Mr. Pawar also criticised the Maharashtra government for failing to implement Marathi as a compulsory language in non-Marathi schools. “They say that Marathi would become an academic disadvantage to migrant students in the state, affecting upward mobility for them”, he said.
Mr. Pawar also criticised the Maharashtra government for failing to implement Marathi as a compulsory language in non-Marathi schools. Marathi is not compulsory in other boards as they say that Marathi would become an academic disadvantage to migrant students in the state, affecting their upward mobility. “If the government can’t implement a policy for Marathi, why are they in such a haste to impose Hindi?”, he said.
Published – April 19, 2025 09:35 pm IST