World Hindi Day or Vishwa Hindi Diwas is annually observed across the globe on 10 January to highlight and educate the importance of the Hindi language and honour the contributions of Hindi speakers across the globe.
- The Day is also a recognition of linguistic diversity, cultural heritage, and the impact of Hindi on a global scale.
Note: Indian Embassies in different parts of the country hold various events to celebrate the day.
Significance of January 10:
i.It marks the day when Hindi was first spoken in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1949.
ii.It also marks the anniversary of the 1st World Hindi Conference held from 10-12 January 1975 in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
- The Conference was inaugurated by former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.
Background:
i.The decision to designate January 10 as World Hindi Day was made during the meeting of the follow-up committee on the World Hindi Conference held on June 8, 2005.
- The decision was made by then-Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh
ii.The first-ever World Hindi Day was celebrated on 10 January 2006.
iii.Since then, World Hindi Day has been celebrated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organises events and activities to promote the language.
About Hindi Language:
i.Hindi belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family of languages.
ii.As per Article 343 of the Constitution of India, Hindi in Devanagari script is the official language of the central government in India and also of the Union.
- Hindi’s official status began with the Constitution of India in 1950.
iii.Hindi is one of the 22 official languages that have been recognised by the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
iv.Hindi is also the official language of various states of India such as Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
National Observance of Hindi (Hindi Diwas):
In India, Hindi Diwas is annually observed on 14 September to mark the day on which the Constituent Assembly of India in 1949, adopted Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Indian Union.
About Ministry of External Affairs (MEA):
Union Minister– Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Rajya Sabha Gujarat)
Ministers of State– V Muraleedharan (Rajya sabha – Maharashtra); Meenakshi Lekhi (Constituency: New Delhi, NCT of Delhi); Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Constituency: Inner Manipur, Manipur)
