The story so far: The linguistic debate in Maharashtra continues days after the Maharashtra government withdrew two orders introducing Hindi as the third language in primary education across Marathi and English medium State Board schools. The government has appointed a committee under renowned economist Dr. Narendra Jadhav to study the three-language policy.
What is the language debate in Maharashtra?
On April 16, the Maharashtra government issued an order making Hindi mandatory as the third language in all English and Marathi medium schools of the State Board in Maharashtra. The government said that it was as per the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. “At present, two languages are being taught from Grade 1 to Grade 4 in all the English and Marathi medium schools in the State. As per the State Education Framework, 2024, Hindi will be mandatory as the third language in all the English and Marathi medium schools from Grade 1 to Grade 5,” the order stated. Till now, third language was introduced only in Grade 5 in English and Marathi medium State Board schools. The other medium schools already have a three-language policy in primary education.
What was the reaction?
There was widespread opposition to the government’s decision on two grounds — first, that a third language should not be imposed in primary school from Grade 1 to Grade 5. The second ground was about the imposition of Hindi. Regional linguistic groups, academics, civil society members, and prominent literary figures raised their voice against the move which was dubbed as an effort to ‘force Hindi’, and a move towards ‘cultural hegemony’. The Maharashtra government’s own language committee wrote to the government seeking its immediate revocation.
Experts argued that the NEP, 2020 focussed on R1 and R2, which is the mother-tongue, and an additional second language for primary education. They said that children should not be burdened with learning three languages in primary school. “Why should there be an imposition of Hindi? This is a concerted effort for cultural hegemony. This is in line with the RSS’ plan of ‘Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan’. In Maharashtra, the Marathi manoos will stand for his linguistic, cultural identity. This is a historic moment since the movement for the reorganisation of States on linguistic basis. The entire State has stood against the government’s imposition of Hindi,” Deepak Pawar of Marathi Abhyas Kendra said.
How did the government respond?
After a severe backlash, Maharashtra education minister Dada Bhuse promised to revise the government resolution (GR). “Hindi will not be mandatory,” he announced. On June 17, the government revised the GR, making Hindi a ‘general’ third language in schools. It stated that the students had the option to learn any other Indian language as the third language, but that it was mandatory for at least 20 students to come together to make the demand. “The government will make a teacher available or will make provision for online learning if at least 20 students come together to learn any other Indian language apart from Hindi,” the revised GR stated.
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However, this drew further backlash as academics and regional linguistic political parties called it an effort to impose Hindi through the backdoor. “The whole exercise of the meeting of the steering committee was carried out in secrecy by the government. The language committee of the government itself was never consulted on the move. The decision is illogical. It has no scientific backing by educationists, child psychologists. It has been taken without any consultation with the stakeholders and experts. At a time when the Marathi culture and language is not being respected by its own government, this is an assault on the linguistic identity of the State,” said Laxmikant Deshmukh, head of Maharashtra’s language committee.
What about political realignments?
The issue provided a fillip to Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which counts ‘Marathi asmita’ or linguistic chauvinism as its core ideology. “We are Hindus, not Hindis,” he said. It paved the path for the reunification of the Thackeray cousins after two decades. Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray joined hands against the government’s move, even holding a joint rally. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar too openly expressed his displeasure with the government’s decision and said that Hindi should not be imposed till Grade 4. This has led to an unease within the Mahayuti with Eknath Shinde not wanting to be seen as standing against the cause. In the face of upcoming local body elections, the language debate has led to changed political dynamics.
What is the way ahead?
The government has announced the scrapping of the two controversial GRs issued on April 16 and June 17. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the formation of a committee under Dr. Narendra Jadhav to look into the three-language policy, and said the government will accept his report. Academics have raised questions on Dr. Jadhav’s expertise in school education, and have demanded the scrapping of the committee as well as the decision to impose the three-language policy in primary education. Opposition parties have said the government should scrap the three-language policy altogether. “We will not accept the three-language policy,” Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena UBT leader, said.
