Hindi Diwas is celebrated on September 14. The day holds special significance as it marks the adaptation of Hindi as an official language by the Constituent Assembly in the year 1949. The date was chosen by Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. Interestingly, the term Hindi is a Persian word and the first poem in the language was written by a famous poet named Amir Khusro.
The term Hindi in Persian roughly means ‘land of the Indus River. The language is the fourth most spoken in the world after Mandarin, Spanish, and English.
History
On the suggestion of Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha a day dedicated to Hindi was first celebrated in 1953. The reason behind marking the day was to increase the importance of the language. Hindi Diwas also marks birth anniversary of Rajendra Singh. He was an Indian scholar, Hindi-stalwart, Sanskritist, Ramayana-authority, and a historian, among other things. Moreover, his role in making Hindi the official language of India was also immense.
The thought of making Hindi a national language was first floated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1918 during the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan. The Constitution of India recognises Hindi as an official language under Article 343.
Former prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first leader in position of power to have addressed an international audience in Hindi at a global level in 1977 when he was the external affairs minister. He had given a speech in the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi.
How it is celebrated
In order to mark the day, an entire week starting from September 14 to September 21 is observed as the Rajbhasha Week. During this period, various competitions ranging from essay writing, debating, poetry recitation among others are held to promote the language. These events are held in various schools and colleges every year. Ever since the pandemic such events have shifted virtually, but they are still being held to celebrate the day. The Bhasha Samman award too was started on the day of Hindi Diwas. It is awarded to those who have contributed significantly to the language through their writing and other means.
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