India, April 18 -- Making Hindi a compulsory subject has nothing to do with politics, nor is it intended to undermine Marathi or impose Hindi, clarified Rahul Rekhawar, director, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), during a press conference held in Pune on Thursday.

As per a new decision announced through an ordinance issued by the school education department, students from class 1 onwards will now be required to study Hindi. According to the State Curriculum Framework for School Education 2024, Hindi will be a compulsory third language for classes 1 to 5 in both Marathi- and English- medium schools. However, the decision has sparked controversy with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray voicing str...