Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) president Sharad Pawar said on Friday that the people of Maharashtra are not anti -Hindi, but it is not appropriate to impose this language on students from first grade to fourth.
During a conversation with journalists, Pawar said that 55 percent of the country’s population speaks Hindi and it cannot be ignored.
This comment by Pawar (80) came amid language dispute in Maharashtra, which began last week after the state government issued a revised order. It was said that Hindi will usually be taught as third language to students in classes one to five in Marathi and English medium schools.
Pawar said, ‘It is not right to impose Hindi on students from first grade to fourth grade. Mother tongue is more important at this age. He said that if this is done after the fifth grade, it will be in his interest, because 55 percent of the people in India speak Hindi. Pawar said that the people of Maharashtra are not opposed to Hindi.
When asked about the demonstrations announced by Shiv Sena (Ubatha) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, Pawar said, “If Thackeray wants all political parties to be involved in demonstrations, then we need to know his stance and accurate plan on the issue.”
