Regret I could not learn Hindi in school, says Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan

Radhakrishnan remarked that it is difficult to understand the problems of people across the country unless one knows Hindi.

Mumbai: Amid the ongoing row over introducing Hindi as a third language in primary schools in Maharashtra, state governor CP Radhakrishnan has said that learning the language is needed to understand the problems of people across the country. He added that he regrets not being able to learn Hindi while growing up, as the language was not taught in municipal schools in his village in Tamil Nadu.

Mumbai, India - July 31, 2024: CP Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the Governor of Maharashtra on Wednesday at Raj Bhvan in Mumbai. Radhakrishnan was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Bombay High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar and other ministers were present at the Raj Bhavan ceremony in Mumbai, India. July 31, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Radhakrishnan, a former state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu, made these observations when a nine-member delegation of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, called on him at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Welcoming the committee members, Radhakrishnan remarked that it is difficult to understand the problems of people across the country unless one knows Hindi. He said his entire school education was in Tamil at a municipal school in his village. As there were no private schools in his village back then, he could not learn Hindi, he added.

“I regret that I could not learnt Hindi in school as my entire school education was in Tamil. After becoming the governor of Jharkhand, I realised that communication with the people was not possible without knowing Hindi. Today, I can fully understand Hindi,” said Radhakrishnan.

His comments come at a time of political and social conflict sparked by the Maharashtra government’s now-reversed decision to make Hindi mandatory in primary schools. This led to protests by regional parties like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena (UBT), who perceived it as “Hindi imposition” and an attack on Marathi asmita (identity). The controversy escalated recently when MNS workers assaulted a Hindi-speaking shop owner in Mumbai for not speaking Marathi, triggering protests and counter-protests.

Meanwhile, MP Dinesh Sharma, the convenor of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language, informed Radhakrishnan that the panel promotes regional languages across the country while also establishing Hindi as an associate language. He added that while the entire functioning of the Union home ministry is conducted in Hindi, henceforth, letters received in a particular regional language will be replied to in that language, along with the Hindi translation of the reply. This means that instead of English, the regional language and Hindi will get prominence in the home ministry’s correspondence.

Radhakrishnan told the committee members that, as chancellor of state universities, he has advised educational institutions to introduce foreign languages such as German and Japanese.