Does PM Modi, Centre endorse Devendra Fadnavis’s position on Hindi imposition in Maharashtra? asks Stalin

Embroiled in a language war with the Centre, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government endorsed the Maharashtra government’s stand on the Hindi imposition row. Stalin’s attack comes after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified only Marathi is compulsory in the state.

 

Stalin, who firmly opposes the three-language formula under the National Education Policy, asked in a post on X, “Facing a massive backlash for imposing Hindi as the third language, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis now claims that only Marathi is compulsory in the state. This is a clear manifestation of his trepidation over the widespread public condemnation against the imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States.”

 

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader asked whether the prime minister and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan endorsed Fadnavis’s position over the matter. “Honourable PM and Union Education Minister must clarify: Does the Union Government officially endorse his position that no language other than Marathi is compulsory in Maharashtra as the third language under National Education Policy (#NEP)?; If so, will the Union government issue a clear directive to all states affirming that the NEP does not require the compulsory teaching of a third language?”

 

Stalin also demanded the Centre to release over Rs 2,000 crore funds withheld by it for not implementing a three-language formula in the state. “Will the Union Government release the Rs. 2,152 crore it unjustly withheld for Tamil Nadu on the premise that the state must subscribe to the teaching of a mandatory third language?” he asked.

 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently announced Hindi will be taught compulsorily as a third language for students in primary classes. Fadnavis’s move faced severe backlash from the opposition. However, Fadnavis on Sunday clarified that only Marathi was mandatory in Maharashtra. “It is wrong to say that attempts are being made to impose Hindi. Marathi will be compulsory in Maharashtra. There will be no other compulsion," he clarified.

India