Maharashtra withdraws orders to make Hindi third language in schools
What's the story
The Maharashtra government has withdrawn its controversial decision to introduce Hindi as a third language in primary schools. "We have decided that a committee will be formed under the leadership of educationist Dr. Narendra Jadhav to determine from which standard the languages should be implemented," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced after a state Cabinet meeting.
Policy review
What the committee will do
The committee headed by Dr. Jadhav will decide the implementation and choice of languages for students under the three-language policy. The state government will take a final decision based on their report. "Until then, both the government resolutions (GRs) issued on April 16 and June 17 have been canceled," Fadnavis announced.
GRs
2 GRs issued by Maharashtra government
On April 16, the Maharashtra government issued the first GR mandating Hindi as a third language for pupils in classes 1 to 5 in English and Marathi medium schools. Following much criticism, the government issued a revised GR on June 17, removing "compulsion" for students to learn Hindi. The revised GR stated that Hindi will "generally" be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from classes 1 to 5.
Political backlash
Opposition's reaction
The initial GRs had faced criticism from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and NCP (SP). The move was also opposed by the Language Advisory Committee. But Fadnavis claimed that the decision to introduce Hindi as a third language was taken by Uddhav Thackeray's government based on recommendations of Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar committee. He also criticized Thackeray for rejecting Hindi while accepting English.
Political developments
Protest against the decision
The announcement to revoke the GRs came hours after a Shiv Sena (UBT)-led demonstration in Mumbai and across the state, during which copies of the June 17 resolution were burned. "We don't oppose Hindi but we will not allow its imposition," Thackeray had said, joining the protest. After the GRs were withdrawn, Thackeray said, "The government lost to the power of Marathi manoos. The government did not realize Marathi manoos will unite in this manner."