World Hindi Day 2023: Day to Honour World's Third Most Spoken, Ancient & Great Language

The modern Devanagari script first appeared in the 11th century. It's worth mentioning that, despite the fact that Hindi is India’s main language, not everyone speaks it. Hindi, as an Indo-Aryan language, is related to other Indian languages such as Bengali, Punjabi, and Romani. 

Every year on January 10, the world celebrates World Hindi Day, also known as 'Vishwa Hindi Diwas.' It was established to commemorate the day in 1949 when Hindi was first spoken at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The 1st World Hindi Conference was inaugurated in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Since then, conferences have been held in various parts of the world. However, the first World Hindi Day celebration took place on January 10, 2006. Manmohan Singh, India's then-prime minister, made this decision public.

The 12th World Hindi Conference is scheduled to be held from February 15 to 17, 2023 at the Denarau Island Convention Center in Nadi, Fiji. “Hindi: Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence” is the conference's main theme in 2023. "At the conference venue, several exhibitions related to the development of the Hindi language will be organized," according to a post on the World Hindi Conference's official website. During the conference, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi, is planning cultural programmes and a Kavi Sammelan.

Vishwa Hindi Diwas is an opportunity to raise awareness about the Indian language and promote it as a global language. This special day also emphasizes developing a passion for the language and appreciating the contributions of Hindi speakers. It is also used to raise awareness about the use of the Indian language and the ongoing issues with Hindi usage and promotion.

The Ministry of External Affairs celebrates this day with classic zeal. Numerous national and international activities are planned to promote Hindi. Poetry readings, tests, cultural events, speech competitions, and debates are typical examples. In addition, to commemorate the growth of Hindi as a language, the Indian Postal Department issues one-of-a-kind commemorative stamps. Schools and students commemorate this day by holding debates, discussions, Hindi poetry recitals, literature classes, plays, quizzes, and other activities in their schools or communities. Debates and discussions can also be held by a variety of organizations, including Hindi clubs.

Government Initiatives to Promote Hindi:

• The Ministry of Education of the Government of India created the Central Hindi Directorate in 1960.

• In a number of foreign universities and institutions abroad, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has established "Hindi Chairs."

• Both the E-Saral Hindi Vakya Kosh and the E-Mahashabdkosh Mobile App are Department of Official Language projects that seek to use technology to advance Hindi.

• An intelligent self-tutoring multimedia application called LILA-Rajbhasha (Learn Indian Languages through Artificial Intelligence) is available for learning Hindi.

• Hindi contributions are honoured with the Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar and Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar awards.

“The spontaneity, simplicity & decency of a language gives meaning to the expression. Hindi has beautifully incorporated these aspects.”- Prime Minister Narendra Modi