Hindi Diwas 2023

The Hindi Diwas (हिंदी दिवस) 2023 is observed annually on 14th September, across the nation, to create awareness about the Hindi language and reduce the growing trend of English language in the nation. No theme was updated for the Hindi Diwas (हिंदी दिवस) 2023.

Why September 14th observed as the Hindi Diwas?

• On September 1949, the Republic of India adopted the Hindi language as an Official language of the country.

• Then PM of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (first prime minister of India) officially declared 14 September as the Hindi Diwas.

• According of the Indian Constitution, Article 343, Hindi written in Devanagri script is considered as the official language of the Union.

• Many Indian activist like Maithili Sharan Gupt, Seth Govind Das, and Kaka Kalelkar promoted Hindi to make India's official language.

• On the other hand, many other prominent Hindi scholars like Beohar Rajendra Simha pushed for the promotion of the Hindi language.

• So the birth date of Beohar Rajendra Simha (September 14) remembered as Hindi Diwas.

• The first Hindi day (Hindi Diwas) was commemorated on 14 September 1953.

Significance of Hindi:

• Hindi is one of the most prominent language across the world.

• About 425 million people, across the world speak Hindi as their first language.

• While 120 million people (approx) speak Hindi as their second language.

• Majorly Hindi Spoken India states: Uttarakhand, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Punjab

• Countries like Mauritius, Nepal, Fuji, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Guyana also use speaks Hindi.

Why Hindi Diwas is celebrated?

• Hindi language, written in Devnagari script, is one of the official language of India.

• The main objective to celebrate Hindi Diwas to reduce the dominance of English language in the country.

• The Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi mentioned Hindi as the language of the people.

• Many literary and cultural events like Hindi Pakhwada organized across the nation.

• Many award like Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar and Rajbasha Kirti Puraskar are given to ministries, departments, public sector units (PSUs), and Public Sector Banks (PSBs) on Hindi Diwas for their immense contribution and promotion of Hindi.

Other Official languages in India:

• The Indian Constitution, under the 8th Schedule, recognizes 22 major languages of India.

• Articles 343 to 351 of Part XVII of the Indian Constitution recognizes the official tongues of India.

• These 22 languages are:

  1. Sanskrit

  2. Assamese

  3. Bangla

  4. Bodo

  5. Dogri

  6. Gujarati

  7. Hindi

  8. Kashmiri

  9. Kannada

  10. Konkani

  11. Maithili

  12. Malayalam

  13. Manipuri

  14. Marathi

  15. Nepali

  16. Oriya

  17. Punjabi

  18. Tamil

  19. Telugu

  20. Santali

  21. Sindhi

  22. Urdu

• Initially, only 14 languages were included in the 8th Schedule, later, 8 language i.e. Konkani, Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri, Nepali, Santali, and Sindhi were added.

Note:

• Sindhi was added in 1967, while Manipuri, Konkani, and Nepali were added in 1992.

• Dogri, Maithili, Bodo, and Santhali were added by 92nd Constitution Amendment Act, 2003.

About World Hindi Day:

• It is observed on annually 10th January.

• World Hindi Day 2023 theme: Hindi: From Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence

• Why 10th January observed as the World Hindi Day?

  • World Hindi Day is also known as the Vishwa Hindi Divas (विश्व हिंदी दिवस).

  • On January 10th, 1975, the World Hindi Conference was held.

  • The main agenda is to promote the usage of the Hindi language worldwide.