The Maharashtra government on Wednesday stayed the proposed Hindi-language examinations for its gazetted and non-gazetted officers and employees following strong opposition from Marathi groups and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Marathi Language Minister Uday Samant announced that the examinations scheduled for June 28 had been put on hold and said the government would review whether such examinations were necessary at all. “If it is found that there is no need for such an examination, then it will never be conducted again,” Samant said.
According to language department director Arun Gite, “The Marathi language department had sought cancellation of the Hindi language examination conducted by the Directorate of Languages. The proposal is under consideration and a final policy decision is expected soon. Until a decision is taken, the Hindi language examination conducted by the Directorate of Languages has been suspended.”
The controversy erupted after a circular was issued by the Maharashtra government’s Language Directorate on April 9, announcing Hindi lower grade and higher grade examinations for gazetted and non-gazetted government officials and employees at divisional centres in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on June 28. Government departments were instructed to submit applications through department or office heads before May 20.
According to the notification, the lower grade examination was to be based on the Maharashtra State Board’s Class 10 “Lokbharati (Second Language)” textbook, while the higher grade examination was to be based on the Class 10 “Kumarbharati (First Language)” Hindi textbook.
Marathi language activists and political groups questioned the need for Hindi testing in a state where Marathi is the official language. The development comes weeks after the Maharashtra government pushed to make Marathi knowledge mandatory for autorickshaw drivers, reviving wider debates around language, identity and regional politics in the state.
The MNS and Marathi Abhyas Kendra argued that even though the Hindi examinations are old, continuing or actively conducting them sends a message that Hindi is being prioritised in a Marathi-speaking state.
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Reacting strongly earlier in the day, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande accused the government of attempting to impose Hindi “through the backdoor” and warned of agitation at examination centres if the June 28 test was conducted.
“We are already insisting that Marathi should be spoken and respected in Maharashtra. Marathi is the state language. Then why should officers here be forced to appear for a Hindi examination,” Deshpande told reporters.
He alleged that the government was trying to “please leaders sitting in Delhi” and claimed the move reflected a larger political attempt to promote Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking states. “If the government forcibly conducts this examination, then whatever happens at the examination centres on June 28, the state government will be responsible for it,” he said.
He further questioned why officers in Maharashtra should be required to learn Hindi when Marathi itself was still not being fully implemented in administration and official communication. “This is an indirect attempt to impose Hindi. We will not allow such efforts in Maharashtra,” he said.
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The state government had issued the circular on April 9, though MNS office-bearers said they came to know about it only recently.
Asked why Marathi Abhyas Kendra had raised the issue now when the examinations had been conducted for years, its president Dr Deepak Pawar said, “The opposition to such exams and moves to force Hindi is being opposed always… As we came to know about this circular for the exam, we raised the issue.”
Calling the stay a victory, Pawar demanded that the examination be scrapped completely. In a statement, he questioned the need for Hindi examinations in a Marathi-speaking state and said making Hindi testing part of service conditions for government employees was unnecessary.
“Marathi is Maharashtra’s official language. Government employees should be able to work and communicate in Marathi. But when Marathi is already the language of administration, why is there a need to test employees’ Hindi knowledge every year,” Pawar said.
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The organisation also questioned whether similar Hindi examinations were conducted for government employees in other non-Hindi speaking states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and West Bengal. Marathi Abhyas Kendra also warned of protests outside the Language Directorate office if the government failed to withdraw the examination plan.
A state government official said the examination was part of an old procedural system and had routinely been announced, but would now be reviewed after objections raised by several organisations. “We are also checking the old rules and decisions taken in this regard and checking whether those rules need to be changed and if it is legally viable as per the central government, state government rule and the Constitution of India,” a senior official privy to the development said.
According to the Maharashtra government’s Language Directorate, the Hindi language examination system for government employees dates back to the pre-Maharashtra state era and was introduced by the then Bombay government in 1951.
The examinations were introduced in the backdrop of constitutional provisions related to Hindi as the Union government’s official language and were aimed at enabling government officers and employees to use Hindi for official work. Under a government resolution issued on September 1, 1951, state government employees were required to pass recognised Hindi examinations within three years of appointment. Failure to do so could result in annual increments being withheld, while candidates who had not passed recognised Hindi examinations became ineligible for appointment to Bombay government service after April 1, 1954.
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In 1955, the examinations were formally divided into Higher Grade and Lower Grade Hindi examinations depending on the category of government posts. Senior officers, gazetted officials and upper division staff were brought under the Higher Grade examination, while lower division employees and other staff were covered under the Lower Grade examination. An oral Hindi test was also introduced for certain categories of employees.
After Maharashtra was formed in 1960 following linguistic reorganisation, the examinations continued under the state government. Over the years, the government introduced several exemptions, including for employees who had studied Hindi at SSC or university level, employees above 45 years of age, technical staff and those whose mother tongue was Hindi.
“After the formation of Maharashtra, Marathi was granted the status of the official language, and since May 1, 1966, all government work, except for exempted purposes, has been carried out in Marathi. In the present circumstances, the use of Hindi in government functioning has reduced considerably and, therefore, continuing the Hindi language examination for government officers and employees is no longer justified,” said Samant.
The Directorate states that the Higher and Lower Grade Hindi examinations are currently conducted twice every year. According to official figures, over 33,000 employees and officers have appeared for the Higher Grade examination, while over 4,600 have appeared for the Lower Grade examination so far.
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Language remains a politically sensitive issue in Maharashtra, where parties across the political spectrum have often taken strong positions on Marathi. The MNS has repeatedly campaigned for wider use of Marathi in government offices, businesses, educational institutions and public transport.
The party has also opposed what it calls attempts by BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the state to gradually expand the use of Hindi in administration and education. Last year, protests against the three-language formula in primary schools had led to the reunion of the Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav.
