Overview
- Marathi Language Minister Uday Samant said Wednesday the June 28 Hindi exam for state staff is suspended pending a review of the 1976 rules.
- The test traces back to a 1951 resolution, later codified in 1976, which required employees without Class 10 Hindi to clear the exam or risk pay increments being withheld.
- Raj Thackeray’s MNS, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Marathi Abhyas Kendra opposed the plan and warned of protests at centres in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
- Officials said the exam is typically held twice a year for a limited pool of employees, so the pause eases pressure on a few thousand workers preparing for this cycle.
- Some outlets reported the test as cancelled, but officials described a pause with a rules review, while language groups press for the exam and the 1976 provision to be scrapped.