A government-run school in Bikaner has now become the second institution in Rajasthan to get orders from the education department to replace Urdu with Sanskrit as the third language, starting in the new academic session in April.

This directive from Ashish Modi, the Director of Secondary Education, was issued on February 14, just days after the school education department directed Mahatma Gandhi Govt School in Jaipur’s RAC Battalion to introduce Sanskrit and discontinue Urdu classes, citing "low enrolment." Modi was inaccessible for comment.

Amid rising anger over the twin orders, a new controversy erupted on Monday when a viral video allegedly showed Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham claiming that many Urdu teachers in the state had secured their jobs using fake degrees. 

The video from a recent event in Bharatpur, Bedham alleges, "The previous (Congress) government removed Sanskrit teachers and deployed Urdu teachers in their place. We don't know Urdu, and no one even studies that subject, which is why we will discontinue the posts of Urdu teachers and provide the kind of education that people want here."

Urdu teachers expressed strong disapproval of what they called the minister's "baseless and irresponsible" comments. Amin Kayamkhani, president of the Rajasthan Urdu Teachers' Association, stated, "Terming degrees of Urdu teachers 'fake' without an investigation is wrong. Also, the allegation against the previous government of appointing Urdu teachers against Sanskrit posts is false. The minister is trying to mobilise the majority community by targeting the linguistic minority. This is politics of hatred."

Officials in Bikaner explained that the decision to replace Urdu with Sanskrit at Napasar Sinthal Road Govt Senior Secondary School is driven by the needs of the area.

A teacher noted, "A lone Class 12 student studies Urdu. In Class 11, there's nobody with Urdu as third language. This is reason why it is being discontinued."