Mumbai: The state has permanently cancelled the mandatory Hindi proficiency exam for gazetted and non-gazetted officers and employees seven decades since its introduction, citing “negligible” use of the language in govt work as well for correspondence with the Centre and other states.
“...after the formation of Maharashtra, Marathi is being used for all govt purposes. Considering the provisions of Maharashtra Official Languages Act and the current nature of govt work, it is unreasonable to impose the Hindi test. The use of Hindi in govt work is very negligible, and correspondence with the Centre and other states is mainly done in English. Considering this fact, the govt was considering the cancellation of the Hindi test conducted by Directorate of Languages,” stated a govt resolution (GR) issued on Monday.
This GR supersedes all other GRs as well as all circulars, orders and letters issued in regard to the exam.
The decision came months after industries and Marathi language minister Uday Samant in May stayed the exam scheduled for June 28 following strong opposition and threats of agitation by Marathi language activists, Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS over the alleged imposition of Hindi in the state. Samant had said govt would review whether such exams were necessary at all.
Officials said the exam was introduced by the then Bombay state in the 1950s to enable officials to use Hindi for administrative work in line with constitutional provisions. After Maharashtra was formed in 1960, the exam continued to be held, with several exemptions introduced over time.
Academic and Marathi language activist
Deepak Pawar had earlier questioned the need for the exam “in a Marathi-speaking state”. “Why the compulsion for a Hindi language exam for govt employees in Maharashtra?... Even though this exam has been held in the state for many years, fundamentally, in a Marathi-speaking state, what is the need to make Hindi exams a part of the service conditions for employees who are mostly Marathi speakers?” he had said in a post on X.
“Since Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra, it is essential and expected to make it mandatory for govt employees to conduct correspondence and communication in Marathi, and to hold exams for them before and during service for that purpose. However, when the language of administrative transactions as well as communication is Marathi, what is the need to test employees’ knowledge of Hindi and to conduct exams for it every year?... Hindi is not the official language of Maharashtra...” Pawar had said.
