Thackeray cousins to jointly oppose mandatory Hindi in schools

Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are set to join forces to Oppose the “imposition” of Hindi in primary schools under the three-language formula. Following parallel announcements earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the two parties - Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - would now jointly hold a rally on July 5 in Mumbai.

“Thackeray is the brand!” Mr. Raut posted on social media, along with a photograph of the two leaders. This marks the first time the Thackeray cousins have united on a political issue since Raj Thackeray founded the MNS in 2006.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar also expressed opposition to the three-language formula. “It is incorrect to impose Hindi from Grade 1 to Grade 4. The government shouldn’t force it. Today, 55% people speak Hindi in India. It can be a language of communication. Because there is no hatred towards Hindi in Maharashtra, it shouldn’t be made mandatory,” he said while speaking to reporters in Kolhapur.

Asked whether he would join the Thackerays’ protest, Mr. Pawar said he would “first understand the issue after returning to Mumbai.”

Reunification of the Thackerays

“Two separate rallies on the same issue are not good. I discussed with both the leaders, and they decided to come together,” Mr. Raut said, emphasising that making Hindi compulsory would put an unnecessary burden on students. “So, it is not just a linguistic but also an academic issue,” he added.

According to Mr. Raut, Mr. Raj Thackeray had called him after announcing his rally and proposed a joint protest.

Mr. Raj Thackeray had earlier announced a ‘Virat Morcha’ on July 6 from Girgaon Chowpatty, while Shiv Sena (UBT) had backed a rally at Azad Maidan on July 7. The scheduling of parallel rallies had led to public speculation over coordination between the parties.

The protest is against the State government’s April 16 decision to mandate Hindi as a third language in primary education and the amended Government Resolution (GR), which requires a minimum of 20 students to opt for any alternative Indian language.

Reiterating the joint stance, Mr. Raut posted: “There will be one united protest against compulsory Hindi in Maharashtra schools.”

Mr. Raut also launched a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling him “Maharashtra’s political enemy” and accusing him of manipulating the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to engineer the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena.