Hindi in Maharashtra after NEP: Why BJP is walking on a tightrope?

NEW DELHI: The Mexican standoff between political parties over Hindi and other regional languages has found a new battleground in Maharashtra, after the BJP-led Mahayuti government rolled out the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, making Hindi the third compulsory language.
While the BJP is defending the move as a step towards creating a common language across the country, the opposition has accused the saffron party of imposing Hindi on the "Marathi Manoos" in an alleged attempt to "Hindi-fy" the state.
Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray proclaimed that his party will not allow making Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra.
"We will not allow making Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra," Uddhav said.
"We have no aversion to Hindi language but why is it being forced?" he added.
Slamming the government for its "Hindi push," Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray claimed that the very principle of linguistic regionalism is being undermined.
"I want to make it clear that the MNS will not tolerate this decision. We will not allow the central government's current efforts to 'Hindi-fy' everything to succeed in this state," Thackeray said in a post on X.
"Hindi is not a national language. It is a state language like any other in the country. Why should it be taught in Maharashtra from the very beginning? Whatever your trilingual formula is, limit it to government affairs—do not bring it into education," he said.
"Why have you started imposing the language of another region on Maharashtra? The very principle of linguistic regionalization is being undermined," the MNS chief added. "We are Hindus, but not Hindi! If you try to paint Maharashtra as Hindi, then there is bound to be a struggle here," Thackeray warned.
The Congress has also criticised the BJP-led Mahayuti government, accusing it of trying to destroy the Marathi language.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “The Marathi language is the identity and culture of Maharashtra, and the BJP government is trying to undermine this very culture. Unity in diversity is India’s true identity, and the BJP is conspiring to erase that."
"The decision to impose Hindi as a compulsory language from the primary level is completely wrong and must be withdrawn immediately,” he added.
Why is BJP walking a tightrope?
The BJP now finds itself walking a political tightrope as municipal elections approach in several cities across the state.
The party is attempting to avoid the perception of being anti-Marathi, particularly in Mumbai, where the historical Marathi vs non-Marathi debate looms large — and where a significant Hindi-speaking population resides.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis recently stated, “Everyone in Maharashtra should know Marathi,” while advocating for “one medium of communication across the country.”
He emphasised that while Marathi is non-negotiable and must be learned by all, the learning of additional languages should remain a matter of personal choice.
On April 16, the Maharashtra government, through its School Education Department, mandated that Hindi will be taught as a third language from Class 1 in all state board schools, alongside Marathi and English, in line with NEP 2020.
The rollout of the new curriculum will be phased. It will start with Class 1 in the academic year 2025–26 and expand to cover all grades by 2028–29.
According to the notification, other medium schools in Maharashtra are already following the three-language formula — since English and Marathi are compulsory, and they also teach the language of their medium of instruction.
However, until now, English and Marathi medium schools have been teaching only two languages.