The Maharashtra government’s newly appointed three-language committee has unveiled its plan of action, with strong emphasis on gathering opinion from teachers, parents, academic institutions, language activists and political leaders. While the final shape of the state’s three-language policy for school students will emerge through this wide-ranging consultation, committee chairperson Dr Narendra Jadhav told Pallavi Smart that the real challenge lies in balancing stakeholder inputs with expert insights before presenting a comprehensive report to the government for its final decision. Excerpts from an interview:The third language was introduced, rather imposed; without taking any public opinion; making it crucial for the committee to examine it. What we will ultimately do with the collected data will only become clear once it is processed and analysed.There is considerable confusion among people surrounding the three-language policy, which is already being implemented in some schools. It is important to consider the background for a better understanding. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, among other things, had prescribed the three-language formula. However, it did not mandate that all three languages be introduced from Grade 1. The NEP states that three languages should be taught over the course of a student’s schooling, and its recommendations are suggestive — not binding.Following the launch of NEP 2020, each state established committees to look into the implementation strategy within the state. Maharashtra appointed Mashelkar Committee led by renowned scientist Dr RA Mashelkar. They recommended Marathi, Hindi and English from Grade 1. Years later, the latest government issued a Government Resolution (GR) making Hindi obligatory from Grade 1 that created havoc, leading to reconsideration of the decision under the pressure of public opinion, making it essential to be studied by the committee for fresh recommendations. The committee will reconcile views expressed by the public.Q: With politics surrounding this policy, there are questions being raised about whether the committee might recommend against implementing the three-language formula… Additionally, some voices from the political sphere have questioned your expertise as an educationist…I was a member of the planning commission where my portfolio included education, labour, employment, youth affairs and social justice. I have been a successful Vice Chancellor of Pune University. I have written my first critical book on NEP 2020. So, to say that I am not an educationist only shows their ignorance.Further, why are we pre-empting and questioning if I have courage to write such a recommendation to the government. We will have to wait for that. There are over 2 crore students and the number is only growing. All these children’s lives will be shaped by this report…About the politics surrounding it, where there is no politics? We will be fooling ourselves to say there is no politics. That said, I am not concerned with politics. I am going to write the report as a professional, as honestly as possible, taking into account all the views and balancing public opinions with expert insights with constant dialogue and debate. The report is only going to make recommendations. The decision is with the government.Story continues below this adQ: From an academic view, is there a consensus on how many languages a school-going child should ideally learn? What does research suggest about the cognitive or developmental outcomes of learning multiple languages?According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) report, 50 per cent of grade 5 students in rural areas could not read a grade 2 level text in any language. This means that teaching more languages at the same time has an unintended effect of people learning none of them well. Children do not seem to have achieved functional literacy in any one of them, with three languages imposed on them.The research is clear on this. The age range of 0 to 8 is a critical developmental window — when the brain is most responsive, but also most vulnerable to cognitive overload. According to experts, at this stage, exposing children to the full academic weight of three distinct languages — each with its own grammar, syntax, phonetics, and literature — does not result in multilingual brilliance. Instead, it creates cognitive clutter, which suffocates creativity.Expert opinion strongly suggests that introducing multiple languages too early divides children’s attention, fosters rote learning, which is a pain of our education system. So therefore, if they want to learn more languages, the idea is not to impose all at once. That is completely wrong in the opinions of experts and I happened to share it.I insisted on including a child psychiatrist in the committee as the core concern in this debate is the unnecessary burden placed on young children. A developmental perspective is essential, and the psychiatrist’s role will be critical in shaping recommendations that truly serve children’s cognitive and emotional well-being.Q: As someone with deep experience in policy making and education, how do you view the broader role of language in shaping identity, equity, and opportunity in a multilingual state like Maharashtra?Language shapes both identity and future opportunities. Every language carries its own culture, and with it, a sense of identity. For a child’s development, the mother tongue plays a critical role — it’s the language in which a child learns to reason. Strong logical thinking is built in that primary language. If one language is well-grounded, transferring skills to other languages becomes easier. But that foundational language must be strong first. Only then should additional languages be introduced.Story continues below this adQ: Are there international models or best practices the committee is looking at while designing Maharashtra’s language policy?Most of such studies done internationally recommend only one language. But India, with such rich linguistic diversity, is not comparable with other countries.One common argument is that children learn languages quickly. That’s true—but mostly when they are picking up a language through natural spoken interaction. When they are given textbooks, grammar exercises, reading, and writing tasks in multiple languages simultaneously, it often leads to cognitive overload.It’s important to differentiate between learning a language in its entirety—which includes reading, writing, grammar, and conversational skills—and learning a language solely for conversational purposes. It would be a better strategy to focus on conversational skills in a language to begin with. Let them learn one language very well in terms of writing, speaking, grammar, etc., before another language is imposed on them. This will also be a topic of discussion in the committee: whether one language should be taught comprehensively, while another could be taught at a conversational level.Q: What criteria were used to select eight cities in Maharashtra for the public meetings on three-language policy?India has 22 officially recognised languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, along with English. Beyond that, 121 languages are spoken by over 10,000 people each, and there are around 90,500 mother tongues and dialects, according to the 2011 Census.Story continues below this adMarathi itself varies widely across Maharashtra, shaped by regional history and culture. For instance, in Nagpur, Marathi is influenced by Hindi due to Vidarbha’s past under the Central Provinces and Berar during British rule — hence its selection. Ratnagiri, influenced by Konkani in the Konkan region, reflects a different linguistic blend. In Marathwada, the Nizam’s historical rule has left its mark on the language, leading us to select Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Kolhapur represents the linguistic tone of western Maharashtra. While Mumbai is cosmopolitan, Pune — considered the cultural capital — uses what is often seen as ‘official’ Marathi. I have aligned our consultation locations with these distinct linguistic regions to capture a broad range of views on Maharashtra’s three-language policy.