Facing backlash, the Maharashtra government on Sunday cancelled its amended government resolution (GR) on the three-language policy and announced the formation of a new committee to review and implement the policy afresh.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting. "In cabinet today, we have decided that on the three-language policy and how it should be implemented, a committee under Dr Narendra Jadhav will be formed. The three-language policy will be implemented after the report of this committee," Fadnavis told reporters.

“Therefore, we are cancelling both GRs on the three-language policy. This committee will consult stakeholders. For us, the centre point is Marathi,” he added.

A controversy erupted after the Mahayuti government issued a modified order stating that Hindi would "generally" be taught as the third language to students from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools. The move was part of the phased rollout of the Centre’s National Education Policy 2020 at the primary school level.

The order, however, came with a rider: if at least 20 students in a class wanted to opt for another Indian language instead of Hindi, the school would make arrangements to appoint a teacher or offer the subject online.

The move drew sharp criticism from opposition parties, who accused the state government of promoting Hindi at the cost of regional languages.

Source: India Today