‘Can’t ignore Hindi, but…’: Sharad Pawar on making language mandatory from Class 1

Sharad Pawar's remarks come amid a row after the Maharashtra government stated Hindi will generally be taught as the third language to students.

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that Hindi should not be made mandatory from Class 1 in Maharashtra, underscoring that if a new language is to be introduced, it should be done only after Class 5.

NCP President Sharad Pawar during a party workers meeting, in Karad, Maharashtra. (PTI)

“Hindi should not be made compulsory in primary education. There is no objection to Hindi being introduced after Class 5. A large section of the country speaks Hindi, and there is no reason to ignore the language completely,” he said.

However, burdening young students with additional languages at the primary level is not appropriate, said Pawar.

The octogenarian politician's remarks come amid a language row that erupted in Maharashtra after the state government last week issued an amended order, stating Hindi will generally be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from Classes 1 to 5.

Pawar emphasised the importance of the mother tongue in early education and said parents should have the right to decide whether their children need to learn Hindi after Class 5.

It is also important to analyse how much language burden students can bear at the early stage, he said.

“If we put the burden of another language on students and the mother tongue gets sidelined in the process, then that is not appropriate. The state government should give up its insistence on making Hindi compulsory from Class 1,” he said.

Pawar said he supports the stand taken by Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on the issue, adding that it is good if the Marathi-speaking population unites over the matter.

The Thackeray cousins have accused the BJP-led state government of trying to create a divide among the people on the basis of language.