Maharashtra stays order making Hindi mandatory for classes 1-5

The Maharashtra government has stayed its order making Hindi a mandatory third language for students of Classes 1 to 5, following strong opposition from the state's Language Consultation Committee, reported PTI, citing the State’s School Education Minister. The move came after the committee’s chairperson, Laxmikant Deshmukh, publicly objected to the decision.

Earlier, on Sunday, the Language Advisory Committee had written to the Chief Minister, urging a rollback of the April 16 directive. The letter argued that the decision was not academically justified and was “not in tune with students’ psychology.”

The directive was part of the state’s implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), which includes a provision to introduce Hindi as a third language from Class 1. However, the decision sparked sharp criticism on social media, led by opposition parties.


Maharashtra now becomes the second major state, after Tamil Nadu, to face pushback over introducing a compulsory third language at the primary level. The original proposal had stemmed from recommendations made by a committee headed by a state minister.