Military Training from Class 1: Maharashtra's Radical Step Amid Growing India-Pak Tensions

In a dramatic and contentious education policy move, Maharashtra School Education Minister Dada Bhuse on Monday said that from Class 1, students would be given basic military training. The step is being framed as a step towards making students patriotic, physically disciplined, and nationally prepared from a young age.

Addressing the media, Bhuse said that the training would be done with the assistance of retired army personnel to instill fitness, discipline, and a sense of responsibility among school kids. "This move will make children do regular exercise, learn about camaraderie, and develop patriotism," Bhuse told news agency PTI.

Support will be drawn from a network of 2.5 lakh ex-servicemen, sports teachers, NCC cadets, and members of Scouts and Guides, as per the minister. The plan has received a green signal already from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The timing of the move is significant, coming after Operation Sindoor—India's retaliatory action against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed personnel. On May 7, civil defence exercises were conducted across the country under 'Operation Abhyas', and a follow-up series, 'Operation Shield', was organized on May 31 along border states to mimic emergency situations and raise preparedness.

Against this fraught geopolitical background, Maharashtra's new school drive for its state is being considered as something greater than an educational curriculum shift — it embodies the increasing intertwining of education and national security concerns.

While others have welcomed the move as a visionary initiative to bring about a "disciplined and vigilant generation," others have raised eyebrows over the psychological and ethical implications of training children as young as six using military-style drills. As the debate rages, Maharashtra's classrooms are on the brink of becoming the battlefields for molding not only young minds but the very fabric of national readiness in a world that is full of uncertainty.