Important Facts For Prelims
Hindi Diwas
- 14 Sep 2022
- 3 min read
Why in News?
On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Prime Minister of India has said that the Hindi language has brought India special honour globally and its simplicity and sensitivity always attracts people.
What is the History behind Hindi Diwas?
- Hindi Diwas or the National Hindi Day is celebrated every year in India on September 14 to mark the day of adoption of Hindi as the official language by the Constituent Assembly of India in 1949.
- The decision of using Hindi as an official language of India was legalised by the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950. India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to celebrate Hindi Diwas on this day.
- Hindi is also an eighth schedule language.
- Hindi is not a classical language.
- Article 351 pertains to the ‘Directive for development of the Hindi language’.
What are the Government Initiatives to Promote Hindi?
- The Central Hindi Directorate was established in 1960 by the Government of India under the Ministry of Education to promote and propagate Hindi.
- Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has established ‘Hindi Chairs’ in various foreign universities/institutions abroad to promote Hindi language in foreign countries.
- LILA-Rajbhasha (Learn Indian Languages through Artificial Intelligence) is a multimedia based intelligent self-tutoring application for learning Hindi.
- E-Saral Hindi Vakya Kosh and E-Mahashabdkosh Mobile App, both initiatives of the Department of Official Language, aim to harness information technology for the growth of Hindi.
- Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar and Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar recognise contributions to Hindi.
Hindi Language
- Hindi is the fourth most spoken language in the world, and is written in Devanagari script. The language got its name from the Persian word 'Hind' - meaning 'land of the Indus River', and is a descendant of Sanskrit.
- Turk invaders in the early 11th century named the language of the region Hindi, 'language of the land of the Indus River'.
- It is the official language of India, English being the other official language.
- Hindi is also spoken in some countries outside India, such as in Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Nepal.
- Hindi in its present form emerged through different stages, during which it was known by other names. The earliest form of old Hindi was Apabhramsa. In 400 AD Kalidas wrote a romantic play in Apabhramsa called Vikramorvashiyam.
- The modern Devanagari script came into existence in the 11th century.
