The Maharashtra government, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, recently backed away from its previous resolutions introducing Hindi as a third language starting from Class I. The initiative, part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and initially based on recommendations from the Mashelkar committee, sparked widespread criticism for being perceived as linguistic imposition

Thackeray Cousins Strike a Common Chord

Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena UBT) and his cousin Raj Thackeray (MNS), political rivals until recently, joined forces in protest. They led public burnings of government resolutions and planned a large-scale procession in Mumbai on July 5, signaling a rare display of unity in defense of Marathi identity

Political Reactions and Pushback

Ajit Pawar, Deputy CM, backed the rollback and emphasized that Hindi would remain optional, with Marathi as the mandatory language

Ashish Shelar, BJP minister, argued that the three-language NEP began under Uddhav’s administration and the mandatory Hindi mandate was from Congress; he stated that Marathi remains the only compulsory language

Congress Voices Reservations

Although the Hindi mandate was overturned, Congress's Maharashtra in-charge, Ramesh Chennithala, publicly distanced the party from Raj Thackeray, citing his anti–North India stance. This suggests that despite shared opposition to the language policy, old tensions linger, complicating future political alignments

NCP Weighs In

Sharad Pawar, NCP chief, supported protests but cautioned against pressuring celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar to take political stances. He emphasized healthier, non-coercive public discourse around the controversy