Hindi Diwas and World Hindi Day aim to promote the Hindi language. However, both days have different histories and significance.
On September 14, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi written in the Devnagari script as the official language of the country. Since then September 14 is observed as Hindi Diwas. Beohar Rajendra Simha along with Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Kaka Kalekar, Maithili Sharan Gupt, and Seth Govind Das rallied pan-India and even debated in Parliament in favor of Hindi. On the 50th birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha, the efforts came to fruition following the adoption of Hindi as the official language.
Also Read: Five times world leaders spoke in Hindi to signify the reach of language
World Hindi Day or Vishwa Hindi Sammelan is observed on January 10. The day marks the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference that took place in 1975 in Nagpur, Maharashtra. The event was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Mauritius’s Prime Minister Swweoosagur Ramgoolam was the chief guest of the conference. The event was attended by 122 representatives from 30 countries. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared January 10 as World Hindi Day in 2006. World Hindi conference is held once every 3 years on January 10.
Hindi is the third most spoken language after Mandarin and English. As per the 2011 census, 43.63 percent of the total population of the country speaks Hindi.
Also Read: Hindi Diwas 2021: How the language evolved after India’s Independence
Some interesting facts about Hindi
1. The word Hindi is derived from the Persian word Hind. Hind means ‘the land of Indus river’.
2. Bihar was the first state of India to declare Hindi as its official language in 1881, replacing Urdu.
3. Article 343 (1) of the Indian constitution states, “The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script”.
4. Several Hindi words including Achha, Surya Namaskar, and Bapu have been included in the Oxford Dictionary.
5. Hindi is spoken in Nepal, Mauritius, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
6. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Minister of External Affairs gave a speech in Hindi at the United Nations General Assembly in 1977.
