NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday (June 27, 2025) said that the people of Maharashtra are not anti-Hindi, but it is not right to impose the language on young students in Classes 1 to 4.
Speaking to reporters here, he said 55% of the country’s population speaks Hindi, and one cannot ignore it.
Explained: How move to include Hindi from Class 1 has injected language politics into Maharashtra
A language row erupted in Maharashtra after the State government last week issued an amended order stating Hindi will “generally” be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from Classes 1 to 5.
As per the order, if 20 students per grade in a school wish to study any other Indian language, they can opt out of Hindi. If such a demand arises, either a teacher will be appointed or the language will be taught online.
