The Maharashtra government has formally rolled back its decision to mandate Hindi as the third language in Classes 1 to 5 in English and Marathi medium schools. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the reversal during a press conference held on the eve of the state legislature’s monsoon session.
Fadnavis revealed that a new committee, headed by educationist and former Rajya Sabha MP Narendra Jadhav, will now be established to review and recommend how to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) three-language formula in the state. “The government will wait for this committee’s report before finalising from which grade the three-language system will apply,” he said.
The now-revoked policy had been introduced on April 16 as part of the State Curriculum Framework for School Education 2024. The original government resolution (GR) stated that Hindi would “generally” serve as the third language option in all English and Marathi medium schools, alongside the compulsory teaching of Marathi. This sparked strong political opposition, with critics arguing it effectively forced Hindi on students in a state with a strong Marathi linguistic identity.
Following the backlash, the government clarified on June 17, stating that Hindi would not be compulsory and that students could choose any Indian language as the third language, provided there were at least 20 students per grade opting for it. The government also pledged to arrange teachers or online classes accordingly.
During the press conference, Fadnavis accused former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of hypocrisy, noting that Thackeray’s cabinet had previously accepted the Mashelkar Committee’s recommendation to introduce Marathi, Hindi, and English from Class 1. “They are protesting only against Hindi, while happily accepting English,” Fadnavis said.
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The controversy had even brought political rivals Uddhav and Raj Thackeray together, as they announced a rare joint protest planned for July 5. With the government’s latest withdrawal of the policy, that protest has now been called off.
Reacting to the announcement, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray posted on X (formerly Twitter), “The government has finally canceled the two GRs attempting to impose Hindi under the guise of a three-language policy. This isn’t some newfound wisdom—this rollback happened only because of the pressure from Marathi people. The question of why the government was so insistent on Hindi, and who was behind this pressure, still remains unanswered.”
