Maharashtra vs NEP: When to Introduce a Third Language?
- Aug. 1, 2025, 4:05 p.m.
Academics in Pune welcomed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s Sunday evening announcement to scrap the two government resolutions (GRs) related to the three-language policy. The first GR had made Hindi a compulsory third language from Class 1 in Maharashtra State Board schools. The improved second GR had offered students the choice to select any Indian language as their third one. The move to establish Hindi as the third language triggered strong confrontation from language experts, political groups and academicians.
Fadnavis declared the scrapping of GRs and mentioned that a commission led by Dr. Narendra Jadhav would resolve the problem. The government chairperson, Laxmikant Deshmukh, appointed the Language Consultation Committee, which strongly opposed the conclusion and said that the government had reacted to the integrity shown by the Marathi population.
“There was no justification for introducing a third language without proper deliberation. Students already began learning Hindi from Class 5, so burdening them from Class 1 was unnecessary,” he told The Indian Express. “Forming a committee is also redundant; the government should have cancelled the move outright. This gives the impression that they still plan to implement Hindi as the third language, keeping the concern alive.”
Vasant Kalpande, former Director of School Education in Maharashtra, criticised the original GR, calling it a mistake. “Although today’s meeting was unrelated to the scrapping decision, we had recommended forming a committee to the SCERT director earlier in the day,” he noted.
Milind Joshi, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, released a statement supporting the decision. “This decision serves the interests of the state and its students. I express heartfelt congratulations to Fadnavis on behalf of the Mahamandal, as he played a major role in making Marathi language education mandatory. I hope he continues to protect and promote Marathi in the future,” the statement said.
Mahendra Ganpule, former head of the Maharashtra School Principals Association, said the announcement aimed to defuse the political tension that had been building. “But now a committee under Dr. Narendra Jadhav has been formed, and the members will remain unknown. While this year’s crisis appears to have been averted, we must continue our efforts until the third language proposal is fully withdrawn,” he stated to The Indian Express.
Two stretched meetings lasting for 7 hours went on at the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Pune. Academics, language stakeholders and officials assembled to discuss about the three-language policy. Rahul Rekhawar, SCERT Director and Sachindra Pratap Singh, Education Commissioner, met with Deshmukh, Kalpande, Joshi, Ganpule, Anand Katikar of the Deccan Education Society, former Joint Director of Education Bhau Gawande, and former Balbharti Education Secretary Dhanwanti Hardikar.
All attendees voiced their opposition to the policy. As the final participants exited the SCERT building around 7 p.m., news broke that Fadnavis had announced the cancellation of both GRs.
