Abu Azmi Backs Maharashtra’s Move to Mandate Hindi as Third Language in Schools

By A Staff Reporter

Mumbai, June 24 — Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra unit president Abu Asim Azmi has strongly supported the state government’s recent directive mandating Hindi as the default third language in all schools. In a controversial statement, Azmi not only backed the decision but also called for Hindi to be declared the national language of India.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Azmi said, “Marathi is rightly the first language in Maharashtra. People run behind English because they’ve become ‘slaves’ to it, so it is taken as the second language. But the third one should be Hindi—without question.”

He cited the importance of Hindi in central governance and national integration, noting that most official work of the Central Government is conducted in Hindi. “There is a committee in Parliament that travels across India to promote Hindi. I have said it before and I say it again: Hindi should be spoken from Kashmir to Kanyakumari,” Azmi stated.

Questioning regional language priorities, Azmi asked rhetorically, “Should I learn Assamese if I go to Assam?”—a remark that has sparked sharp reactions online and from regional language advocates.