India, July 7 -- "Learning in one's mother tongue helps build a strong foundation. Once that is firm, you can stand in any situation," Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai said on Sunday during a visit to his alma mater, Chikitsak Samuh's Shirolkar High School in Girgaon, where he studied from class 3 till class 7.

"My education in my mother tongue has never had any adverse effect on my professional journey," a visibly emotional Gavai told his former classmates and current teachers and students at the school, sharing anecdotes that left many, including the CJI, with moist eyes.

Gavai's comments came amid a raging row in Maharashtra over the Mahayuti government's bid to introduce Hindi as a compulsory third language class 1, in lin...