Vishwa Hindi Diwas

• 10 Jan 2023

Why in News?

Vishwa Hindi Diwas (VHD) or World Hindi Day (WHD) is celebrated every year on 10^th January to promote the Hindi language all around the world.

• Whereas Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14^th September annually, which focuses largely on recognition of the Hindi language in India.

What is Vishwa Hindi Diwas?

• About:
  • It was first celebrated in 2006 to commemorate the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference which was held in Nagpur on 10^th January, 1975.
    • It marks the day when Hindi was first spoken in the United Nations' General Assembly in 1949. It is also celebrated by Indian embassies located in various parts of the world.
  • The World Hindi Secretariat building was inaugurated in Port Louis, Mauritius in 2018.
• Significance:
  • The purpose of this day is to create awareness about the Indian language and promote it as a global language around the world. It is also used to create awareness about the usage of the Indian language, and about the issues persisting around the usage and promotion of the Hindi language.
• National Hindi Day:
  • 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.
    • Kaka Kalelkar, Maithili Sharan Gupta, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Seth Govindadas made important contributions to make Hindi the official language.
  • Hindi is also an eighth schedule language.
  • Article 351 pertains to ‘Directive for development of the Hindi language’.
• Government Initiatives to Promote Hindi:
  • The Central Hindi Directorate was established in 1960 by the Government of India under the Ministry of Education.
  • Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has established ‘Hindi Chairs’ in various foreign universities/institutions abroad.
  • 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 got its name from the Persian word Hind, meaning 'land of the Indus River'. Turk invaders in the early 11^th 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 11^th century.

Source: IE