Special Correspondent
Mumbai — Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has launched a scathing attack on the state government, questioning the alleged imposition of Hindi language in schools across Maharashtra. “If Hindi is not compulsory in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, or Kerala, then why is it being forced upon Maharashtra?” he asked during a press interaction in Mumbai.
He strongly opposed the state’s move to introduce Hindi as a compulsory subject from Class 1 instead of the existing option from Class 6. Thackeray questioned whether this policy was being introduced just to make things easier for IAS officers posted in the state, so they wouldn’t need to learn Marathi.
“Is this move intended to make Marathi redundant? Why impose such a burden on children when Hindi is not even the national language, but merely a language of some states?” he asked. “Will you teach Marathi as a third language in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, or Bihar?” he countered, stressing that every political party in Maharashtra must reflect seriously on this issue.
Thackeray cautioned that allowing Hindi to dominate could lead to a long-term decline of Marathi. “Once everything starts functioning in Hindi, it will be extremely difficult to reverse it,” he warned.
He also pointed to Gujarat’s education policy, citing the official website of the Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training, which lists Gujarati, Mathematics, and English as the core subjects from Class 1. “If Gujarat hasn’t imposed Hindi, then why should Maharashtra?” he asked.
Calling Hindi a rich and beautiful language in its own right, Thackeray emphasized that no language should be imposed on young minds. “It takes centuries to build a language. This imposition is an attempt to erode Marathi identity,” he said, adding that educational policy had so far allowed optional language learning from Class 6 onwards.
The MNS leader revealed that he has written a letter to all school principals in the state, urging them to resist the enforcement of this policy. He also claimed that discussions had been held with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who reportedly assured that the Hindi imposition would not go forward and the policy would be rolled back.
Thackeray went further to question whether the influence of an “IAS lobby” was behind the state government’s decision. “Even when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are at the helm, Hindi isn’t imposed in Gujarat. Then why is it being forced in Maharashtra?” he asked.
He concluded with a strong warning to the government: “Every language is valuable, but children cannot be burdened with forced imposition. There is no mention of compulsion in the central education policy, so why is Maharashtra going down this path? Don’t mislead people by falsely quoting national education policy.”
