Ajit Pawar not in favour of making Hindi must from Class 1

Mumbai: In a significant development on the three-language issue in Maharashtra, deputy chief minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar said he was not in favour of making Hindi compulsory from Class I, however, from Class V students and parents can take a call on the third language. 

The statement on Pawar comes on the eve of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature. 

However, Pawar clarified that there is no compulsion to learn Hindi from Class I. "We have never been of the opinion that Hindi should be imposed from the start,” he said. 

"There's no compulsion of Hindi. We believe that everybody in their respective state should learn their mother tongue. We said that one should think about Hindi from Class five. Those in English-medium schools should learn Marathi as it is a compulsory subject. People should make the decision (students, parents and teachers) from Class V,” said Pawar. 

According to him, the issue is expected to be discussed in the Cabinet meeting on Sunday evening on the eve of the legislature session.

“Generally, in Maharashtra, along with Marathi and English, students choose Hindi as the third language,” he said.

The statement of Pawar comes in the backdrop of the 5 July protest meeting - led by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray - in Mumbai against “imposition” of Hindi.

In April, the Maharashtra government notified Hindi as a third language which will be mandatory for students in Classes 1 to 5  in Marathi and English medium schools triggering strong reactions from opposition parties - Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray.

However, later, it amended the  order which  points out that  Hindi will "generally" be the third language, instead of being “mandatory”, but gives an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi.