The Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNS student wing) on Friday staged a protest against the state government's decision to make Hindi a compulsory subject from Class 1. The protest was held by burning a copy of the related ordinance at Jhansi Rani Chowk.
The agitation followed a warning from MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who said that such compulsion would not be tolerated. MNS activists claimed the decision was an attack on the Marathi language and culture. They said that the state was attempting to erase the existence of Marathi and added that, in the future, there might be a board that reads "Marathi people used to live here."
The protesters criticised the state government for acting against Marathi interests. They also opposed Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ statement that Hindi is the language of national communication.
Dhananjay Dalvi, city president of the student wing, said that imposing three languages on children at a very young age is unfair. He argued that the government should have consulted language experts before taking such a step. He accused the central government of enforcing the policy and the state government of blindly supporting it.
Dalvi challenged the state to show the courage to tell the Centre that such policies will not be allowed in Maharashtra. He warned that if the government does not respond, they will not allow a single Hindi textbook to enter Pune’s schools.
Leaders and activists including Prashant Kanojia, Adv. Sachin Pawar, Narendra Tamboli, Sunil Kadam, Abhishek Bhai Thite, Rupesh Gholap, Sarang Saraf, Vikrant Bhilare, Parikshit Shirole, Adv. Sachin Nanavare, Ketan Dongre, Nilesh Jori, Ashutosh Mane, Ashok Pawar, Shashank Amrale, Hemant Bolge and Santosh Vare participated in the protest.