Mumbai
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday strongly opposed what he described as the “imposition” of Hindi in Maharashtra. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to divide people along linguistic lines and creating a “language emergency” in the state.
Speaking during a media interaction, Thackeray clarified that while his party does not oppose any language, it will resist any attempt to enforce one over others. “We respect all languages, but we oppose the imposition of Hindi. The BJP is using language to disrupt social harmony in Maharashtra,” he said.
The controversy follows the state government’s amended order, proposing Hindi as the third language for students from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English medium schools. While Hindi will “generally” be taught, students can opt for other Indian languages if at least 20 students per grade request it.
Thackeray said the language issue could be settled if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis publicly clarified that Hindi will not be made compulsory in schools. He reminded the media that during his tenure as CM (2019–2022), Marathi was made mandatory in all schools across the state.
He also announced Shiv Sena (UBT)’s support for a civil society protest against the three-language policy scheduled at Azad Maidan on July 7. Targeting his political rival, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Thackeray said those who betrayed the original Shiv Sena should be reminded of Bal Thackeray’s vision for preserving Maharashtra’s cultural and linguistic identity.