Mumbai
oi-Gaurav Sharma
The Maharashtra government has scrapped a Hindi proficiency examination which state government employees were mandated to appear for over almost seven decades, calling it no longer practical for the state’s administration.
The examination which has been in place since the 1950s has been discontinued through a new Government Resolution. The government claimed the move to be true to the Maharashtra Official Language Act and the manner in which the official business is carried.
Citing impracticality and Marathi’s role as the state’s official language, the Maharashtra government has discontinued a Hindi proficiency examination for state employees mandated for nearly 70 years, while retaining Marathi proficiency tests for transport workers.
Maharashtra said Marathi has always been the language of government administration since the state’s formation and Hindi has limited application in official correspondence and the communication with the Centre and other states is primarily done in English.
The new Government Resolution overrides all the earlier government orders, circulars and instructions on the Hindi examination.
Why the Hindi test had survived for decades
The requirement to learn Hindi originated before the formation of Maharashtra. The then administration prescribed Hindi for certain official functions and made employees suffer a language examination.
Even though Maharashtra eventually adopted Marathi as the primary language of government work, the Hindi examination continued.
The test used to be conducted twice every year attracting roughly 2,000 to 2,500 government employees in each cycle.
The issue had found new political relevance this year with the Marathi language activists and parties such as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) opposing the examination as a compulsory Hindi test was unnecessary in a state where Marathi is the official administrative language.
In May, Industries and Marathi Language Minister Uday Samant had put the June 28 examination on hold. The government’s latest decision has made that suspension permanent.
Marathi test remains mandatory for transport workers
The decision to remove the Hindi test comes at a time when Maharashtra is pushing for Marathi proficiency in the transport sector.
Around 7,750 auto-rickshaw drivers have reportedly failed the Marathi language proficiency examination. Government figures indicate that more than 25,000 auto and taxi drivers have yet to obtain certification under the state’s Marathi language training programme.
The government had given the drivers until August 15, 2026, to meet the Marathi language requirement.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has ruled out any extension. Those who failed the assessment will have to take the examination again.
The contrasting decisions have put Maharashtra’s language policy under the limelight: the state has ended a decades-old Hindi proficiency requirement for government employees but maintains Marathi proficiency requirements for commercial transport drivers.
