Uddhav Thackeray's BIG remark: Won't allow compulsion of Hindi in Maharashtra, asks why is it being forced?

Amid ongoing war of words over Maharashtra government's decision to make Hindi compulsory as a third language, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that his party will not allow making Hindi compulsory in the state.

Thackeray made the remark while addressing an event of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, the workers' wing of the Shiv Sena (UBT).

“We will not allow making Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra. There is no aversion to the Hindi language, but why it is being forced,” said the Sena UBT chief.

Earlier, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray slammed the move, adding his party will oppose the decision vehemently and ensure that it is not implemented.

“I want to make it clear that MNS will not tolerate this decision. We will not allow the central government's current efforts to 'Hindi-fy' everything, to succeed in this state,” Thackeray said in a post on X.

“Hindi is not a national language. It is a state language like other languages in the country. Why should it be taught in Maharashtra from the very beginning? Whatever your trilingual formula is, limit it to government affairs, do not bring it to education,” he added.

Just two days ago, Maharashtra Government decided that Hindi as a third language will be mandatory for students in classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools across the state, in a departure from the practice of studying two languages.

The three-language formula for classes 1 to 5 is a part of the new curriculum implementation under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The state school education department has declared a phase-wise implementation plan of the new curriculum framework designed as per the NEP 2020 recommendations for school education.

Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) MP Supriya Sule on criticised the Maharashtra government's decision.

"I have said earlier that this decision has been taken in a hurry. Marathi is the soul of Maharashtra, and it will continue to be number one. There is a lot of work to do in the field of education, and Marathi language must be the first language. I think this step is a conspiracy to finish off our SSC board," Sule told ANI.