Mumbai: The department of school education of Maharashtra state has rewritten the policy of the third language and has made Hindi optional in Classes 1–5 in both Marathi and English medium schools.
On June 17, 2025, the state provided a Government Resolution (GR) and deleted the term ‘compulsory’ in its previous order. Hindi is now the third language, but if 20 students in a class choose another Indian language, they can use that instead. If fewer than 20 students choose an alternative, online language teaching will be possible. It will align with the State Curriculum Framework of School Education 2024 and be consistent with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The initial April 2025 deadline when Hindi was made mandatory triggered the demonstrations backed by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and proponents of the Marathi language. Its MNS chief Raj Thackeray declared it an imposition, saying, “Hindi should not be our national language; Marathi is our pride.” The Language Consultation Committee of the state also opposed the move, citing concerns about academic overload on students at a young age.
The State Education Minister, Dada Bhuse, clarified that they were not forcing anyone to learn Hindi. The three-language formula remains in place, allowing students to choose another Indian language if they wish. In Marathi and English medium schools, Marathi and English will still be compulsory, and in the non-Marathi, non-English medium schools, the medium of instruction, i.e., Marathi, will be taught and English.
In response, the critics led by Congress leader Harshwardhan Sapkal branded the revision as a backdoor method to impose Hindi and that it was a detriment to Marathi. According to a former education board chairman, Vasant Kalpande, it is difficult to find 20 students of any non-Hindi language, so it becomes Hindi by default.
The policy change has reduced hostilities and has highlighted some of the issues related to language identity in Maharashtra. As the academic year 2025-26 approaches, schools must begin implementing a shift to provide flexible language options.