National

ETV Bharat / international

World Hindi Day: Honouring Hindi Language And Its Cultural Significance

World Hindi Day is celebrated to promote its use globally, emphasise developing a passion for the language, and value the contributions of Hindi speakers.

World Hindi Day: Honouring Hindi Language And Its Cultural Significance
Representational Image (Getty Images)

By ETV Bharat English Team

Published : 15 hours ago

World Hindi Day promotes Hindi as a global language. It is one of the most spoken languages in the world and the tongue of many in India. It is not just a language but an emotion. Hindi, which has incorporated words from many languages, has become refined and a very simple and understandable language. From the media to today's writers, everyone is writing in the same language.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) celebrates this day globally by organising various events and activities through Indian embassies and cultural centres in different countries. These events typically include cultural programs, language workshops, seminars, and discussions. The theme for World Hindi Day is 'A Global Voice of Unity and Cultural Pride'. The theme aims to highlight the usage of the Hindi language for linguistic and international exchanges.

The theme for World Hindi Day 2024 was "Hindi – the bridge between traditional knowledge and artificial intelligence". This theme reflects the intention to combine Indian cultural values with modern technologies, especially artificial intelligence.

History

India being a nation of great diversities posed a huge dilemma in front of the drafting committee of the constitution regarding the language that could represent the whole nation. Many significant personalities of that time rallied for Hindi to be chosen as the national language because it was the single largest spoken language of India.

Mahatma Gandhi also professed his wish for Hindustani to be adopted as the national language of India as it was spoken by both the Hindus and the Muslims of the northern part of India.

On September 14, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the official language of the Republic of India. Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha proposed Hindi Diwas on the birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha, who lobbied pan-India in favour of Hindi.

However, it was hard to ignore other significant languages of India and chose Hindi as the national language; consequently, the drafting committee instead adopted Hindi as an official language of India. It is also imperative to apprise that Indian constitution recognises no language as the national language of India and Hindi along with 21 others is an official language of India.

Say with pride 'We are Indians / We are Hindi'

Among the other languages of India, Hindi is one of the most widely spoken languages of the world, so the reason behind this is that it is more flexible than other languages in adopting the words of other languages. And most impactable on the other language, because these words are in use among the Sanskrit languages.

There are many such words of Urdu and English which have been adopted by the hindi. Hindi changes with time. Perhaps today's teenagers and youth are getting the benefit of digital media and It is true, the social media also gives a forceful and destructive bond.

Increased influence of Hindi language on the internet

In a study by IMRB, nearly 71 per cent of Indians prefer online news in Hindi, with 49 per cent relying on social media as per a 2024 digital news, it is further stated that 54 per cent form YouTube news, 48 per cent from WhatsApp and 35 per cent from Facebook. Instagram at 33 per cent and Telegram at 20 per cent of over 95000 individuals in 47 countries, represents about half of the global population.

Facts about Hindi

  • Hindi is an Indo-European language.
  • Hindi is said to be a descendant of the Sanskrit language.
  • English has borrowed a great number of words from Hindi.
  • Each letter of the Hindi alphabet has its own independent and distinct sound.
  • The term “Hindi” is actually derived from the Persian language.
  • Around 4.46 per cent people of total world population speak Hindi.
  • Hindi is the 4th most spoken language by the number of native speakers in the world after Chinese, Spanish and English.
  • Despite being 4th most spoken language in the world, the United Nations does not recognize Hindi as one of its official languages. However, the Indian government is actively rallied for the recognition of Hindi since 2015.
  • Hindi is written in Devanagari script and it has around 16 dialects prominent being Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Bundeli and Khariboli.
  • Hindi is a direct descendant of an early form of Vedic Sanskrit, through Sauraseni Prakrit and Śauraseni Apabhraṃśa.
  • The 2021 census of India showed that there were over 197,000 Hindi speakers in the country, which was an increase from 2016 when there were 159,652 Hindi speakers.
  • It is mainly spoken in the Hindi Belt of India which comprises states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Why is World Hindi Day celebrated?

To honour the Hindi language and its cultural significance, and to promote its use globally, also emphasizes developing a passion for the language and valuing the contributions of Hindi speakers. Additionally, it is used to raise awareness of the use of the Indian language as well as the ongoing problems with Hindi usage and promotion.

How to Celebrate World Hindi Day?

  • Host events Organize educational workshops, seminars, or competitions in Hindi. You can also host cultural events that showcase Hindi music, dance, and theater.
  • Promote Hindi on social media, use the hashtag #WorldHindiDay to post about the importance of Hindi.
  • Read and recite Hindi literature to promote the language.
  • Encourage people to learn Hindi by offering language classes.
  • Collaborate with schools: Partner with schools to host Hindi poetry readings, quizzes, cultural programs, speech contests, and debates, writing or speaking competitions.
  • Honor Hindi writers and Celebrate the contributions of Hindi authors, poets, and lyricists.
  • Screen Hindi films and Organize a movie marathon featuring iconic Hindi films.
  • Collect commemorative stamps, the Indian Postal Department releases special commemorative stamps to celebrate the evolution of Hindi.
  • Host virtual meetups: Host online events with Hindi enthusiasts worldwide to discuss its global impact.

Learning from technology

One can Learn Hindi. Speak Hindi, by a Hindi teaching app, If there is any mistake during conversation in Hindi, then it tells about the correct word. Hindi grammar is also given in it to improve the language. There is also a facility to practice sentences. If you pronounce Hindi words and phrases incorrectly, you get instant feedback. Some apps Illustrated graphics used in this to learn the words and remember them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

...view details