'We will burn govt resolution': After Karnataka, language war heats up in Maharashtra

The debate over language imposition has reignited political tensions in Maharashtra, with opposition parties accusing the BJP-led government of attempting to force Hindi onto schoolchildren at the cost of Marathi. The controversy comes just weeks after similar disputes unfolded in Karnataka over the centralisation of Hindi in education and administration.

On June 17, the Maharashtra government issued a government resolution (GR) making Hindi the third language for students of Classes 1 to 5 in English and Marathi medium schools. Though not mandatory, the move has triggered backlash across the political spectrum, with parties warning against what they describe as linguistic homogenisation.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said both Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray would publicly protest the resolution. "Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will protest against the forceful imposition of Hindi in the state education. We will burn the government resolution released today along with the public...Main program is in Mumbai… Uddhav Thackeray will be present in this program,” Raut told reporters.

Raut's remarks follow criticism by party leader Aaditya Thackeray, who called for the resignation of School Education Minister Dada Bhuse. "We demand that no language should be forced. What we have been learning so far should continue. Education should be enhanced, but no language should be forced. Why is it just Hindi? How much do you want to burden the children? Focus on what they are already studying; restructure it a little, make it better," Aaditya said.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde defended the policy and dismissed the opposition's claims as politically motivated. "The then Chief Minister of Maharashtra had made mandatory the teaching of three languages — Marathi, English, and Hindi, which was recommended by the Raghunath Mashelkar Committee... When they were in power, their opinion was different, and now that they are not in power, they are responding differently,” Shinde told ANI. "The people who practise double-faced politics have no right to demand the resignation of Minister Dada Bhuse. Our government made Marathi mandatory in schools," he added.

The state Congress, meanwhile, has gone further in framing the decision as ideological. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged that the language policy is part of a "BJP-RSS conspiracy" to promote Hindi hegemony. "This is not merely about a language policy. The BJP-RSS agenda is to erase all other languages and impose Hindi hegemony across the nation. But we will not allow Marathi to be throttled. This deceitful design will be defeated," Sapkal said on Saturday.

He said the party had reached out to literary figures across Maharashtra to build a united front and added, “We respect Hindi as a language, but coercion is unacceptable. Marathi is not just our language. It is our identity and way of life." 

The Congress has also accused the BJP of selective enforcement. "Why is Hindi not compulsory in Gujarat?" Sapkal asked, adding, "Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and (minister) Chandrashekhar Bawankule must speak about these double standards."

The government has maintained that Hindi is not being made compulsory.