The Maharashtra government’s recent decision to make Hindi a must-learn third language for students taking courses in Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English medium schools has been strongly defended by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Pawar dismissed the criticism of opposition parties as they themselves are ‘making controversies over issues which are not there’.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of a national memorial to be built for the Chapekar Brothers in Pimpri Chinchwad, Pawar stated that Marathi would always be the foremost language in the state. ‘Thus, Marathi is our mother tongue and it will have first preference in Maharashtra,’ he said. However, opponents of the policy are “raking up unnecessary disputes” so they can remain politically relevant, he added.
Pawar said, “Some of them are fabricating disputes about the Hindi Language, because they simply have nothing else to take their time about. English is also used widely across India as they don’t talk in just one language, the same is with Hindi, being spoken in many part of India. There is a discussion going on whether Hindi is the national language or not, but I wish to not enter that discussion.”
The state government’s decision comes as a frustrating turn from the traditional two-language formula, where young students are taught Marathi and English, and Hindi. This has received a strong reaction from the various political quarters.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray has vehemently opposed the decision, saying that his party will not allow the Centre’s attempts to “Hindi-fying” Maharashtra. However, the Congress party has also criticised the initiative, accusing it of imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking populations.
The political backlash notwithstanding, the government claims the decision is to instil linguistic versatility among students and enable them to connect with the larger Indian population where Hindi is used widely.
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