Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 21 (ANI): Amid criticism over the Maharashtra government's decision to make Hindi a compulsory third language, state Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Sunday clarified that that Hindi will only be taught from Classes 1 to 5 to provide students a basic understanding of the language. Kesarkar said the controversy stems from a misunderstanding, as Hindi was already a compulsory subject in Classes 5 to 7 under the previous framework. "Hindi was already compulsory for Classes 5, 6, and 7. Now, that compulsion is being removed from class 6 onwards... Hindi will be taught only at the primary level -- from classes 1 to 5 -- to give students a basic grasp of the language, which is widely spoken across the country," he told ANI. Kesarkar noted that both Hindi and Marathi share the Devanagari script, making it easier for students to learn. "Marathi and Hindi both use Devanagari script, so they already have some similarity... There has been a misunderstanding - the compulsion for Hindi was already there before... Now it's being relaxed," he said. The minister also reiterated the government's efforts to promote Marathi. "Our government has taken major steps for Marathi -- granting it classical language status, building Marathi Bhawan, launching the Marathi International Council, and a Marathi encyclopedia. All this happened in the last 2.5 years under the leadership of Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis," he said. Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also defended the move, saying it was incorrect to say that Hindi was being imposed. He stressed that Marathi remains mandatory in the state and is not being replaced. "It is incorrect to say Hindi is being imposed as Marathi will remain mandatory in Maharashtra. I am often surprised that while we oppose an Indian language like Hindi, we praise and carry English on our shoulders. I find it curious why Indian languages feel distant to us while English feels closer. This is something that we need to think about," Fadnavis said. He explained that the new guidelines are in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which mandates the learning of three languages, two of which must be Indian. "The first thing to understand is that Hindi has not been made mandatory in place of Marathi; Marathi remains compulsory. However, the New Education Policy (NEP) offers an opportunity to learn three languages, and learning three languages is mandatory. According to the policy, two of these three languages must be Indian languages," he added. The Maharashtra government has made it compulsory for students in state board schools to learn Hindi as a third language from Class 1, in addition to Marathi and English. Earlier, Rahul Ashok Rekhawar, Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra, said that the decision was taken by the School Education Department on April 16. Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Rekhawar said, "On behalf of the Maharashtra Government, the School Education Department has taken a decision in which teaching Hindi language along with Marathi and English has been made compulsory from Class 1 in all the schools of the state board. This decision has been made with all the appointments and their development in view, and the students will definitely benefit from it."He clarified that the decision is meant purely for educational reasons and is not linked to any political or community agenda. (ANI)