Under opposition pressure, Fadnavis scraps Hindi rule for primary schools

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has revoked the controversial government resolutions issued on 16–17 April, introducing Hindi as the third language in primary schools in the state.

Caught on the back foot ahead of the monsoon session of the state assembly that got under way today, a conciliatory Fadnavis also announced the formation of a committee to review the three-language policy for primary schools.

While the first government resolution on this had made Hindi the mandatory third language for students from Classes 1 to 5, the second made it optional.

Reacting to Fadnavis’ announcement — which came on the heels of an agitation by the Shiv Sena (UBT), in which activists burnt copies of the contentious resolutions, and saw Raj and Uddhav Thackeray announcing a joint agitation with Sharad Pawar’s blessings and support — Maharashtra PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said the arrogance of the government’s ‘monstrous majority’ has been shattered.

Sapkal in his post on X said:

“The resolute stance of the opposition parties, the strong opposition from Marathi language-loving citizen organizations, and the wave that erupted on social media have all resulted in the government cancelling both orders mandating Hindi imposition,” Sapkal continued.

“However, we all need to remain vigilant going forward. Those in power are deceitful. Their parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, will try again to push its Hindi–Hindu–Hindurashtra agenda. We will once again defeat it. Jai Maharashtra!”

Congress legislature party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said: “The government bowed down to Marathi power. In the backdrop of monsoon session of the state legislature starting from Monday, the government withdrew from the Hindi compulsion. This is a victory for the self respect and identity of the Marathi people.”

Earlier, at the meeting, Sapkal alleged that “Hindu, Hindi and Hindu nation are the agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP. But the Congress party is opposed to that agenda. BJP’s Hindutva is limited only to speaking Hindi so that it is being fought in the name of language. The Hindi-Marathi conflict is being played out like India-Pakistan to assess whether any political benefit be gained from it in the upcoming municipal elections. This is a crooked ploy of the ruling BJP.”

Sapkal further said that it is said that Hindi language is 800 years old while Marathi language is 2,300 years old. Marathi language has been given the status of a classical language, but along with that, the state government must say whether a Marathi language department was started in the central university and how large a budget has been allocated for it.

Following the state government’s decision to withdraw the contentious Government Resolutions (GRs) mandating compulsory Hindi from Class 1 under the three-language formula, the joint opposition march planned for 5 July has reportedly been called off. Its announcement had raised considerable speculation about a renewed political alignment between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) .

In his reaction, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut welcomed the rollback, subtly signalling that the broader concerns over cultural imposition remain unresolved. His remarks hinted that the underlying issues extend beyond just policy and touch on deeper questions of regional identity and linguistic autonomy.

Raj Thackeray also welcomed the reversal, attributing the decision not to newfound insight, but to sustained public pressure and the collective voice of the Marathi-speaking community.

Thackeray questioned the rationale behind the government’s initial move, asking pointedly: “Why was there such urgency to impose Hindi in Maharashtra’s schools? What kind of pressure was the government facing? That still remains a mystery.”

With agency inputs