Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray said on Thursday that he would not allow Hindi as a mandatory language in the state. As per the state school curriculum plan, Hindi has been made mandatory in the state from the first grade.
“I say in clear words that the MNS will not tolerate this compulsion. We will not allow the Central government's efforts to spread Hindi everywhere,” said Raj. “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 first grade”, questioned the MNS chief.
“Whatever your trilingual formula is, limit it to government affairs; do not bring it to education. Language-based provincialization was done in this country, and it lasted for so many years. But why have you started imposing the language of another province on Maharashtra? The MNS chief asked.
“The very principle of language-based provincialization is being undermined. Today they are forcing languages, tomorrow they will issue other fatwas,” Raj Thackeray said in his post on X.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has prepared the State School Curriculum Framework 2024 and Hindi has been made compulsory as a third language along with Marathi and English for students from classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English medium schools.
