India, Nov. 29 -- Despite the strong public reaction to the move to make Hindi compulsory from Class 1, the state-appointed review committee has received only 11,200 responses to the questionnaire and opinion forms seeking people's views.

The state set up the committee in June after a backlash over its announcement on the compulsory introduction of Hindi in schools across the state. Headed by Prof Narendra Jadhav, the panel was asked to submit a report on whether or not the three-language formula was feasible.

The committee visited eight places in Maharashtra to gauge public opinion on the policy. The final hearing was conducted in Mumbai on Friday and attended by 400-odd people including teachers, parents, students and political leader...