World Hindi Day 2024: Its History, Origin, Importance, Facts, Globally Recognition etc.

Every year on January 10, the world observes World Hindi Day to honor the cultural importance and worldwide influence of the Hindi language. World Hindi Day encourages the use of Hindi in a variety of contexts, such as musical performances, theatrical productions, cultural events, and educational settings. This appreciation promotes the language's continued development and evolution while also preserving its vibrancy.

World Hindi Day/Diwas: History

The day marks the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference which was held in Nagpur on January 10th, 1975. This conference saw 122 delegates from 30 countries participating. With its first speech at the UN General Assembly in 1949, the language started its ascent to international prominence. Under the direction of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, the first Vishwa Hindi Diwas was formally celebrated in 2006, designating January 10th, since then World Hindi Day has been celebrated annually.

World Hindi Day: Importance and Facts

Date: World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10th every year. In 2024, it will fall on Wednesday, January 10th.

- Hindi is the fourth most spoken language in the world with over 600 million speakers. Celebrating World Hindi Day promotes the usage of Hindi globally.

- Hindi is the official and most widely spoken language in India. It is also understood by a large population and helps unite people across different states in India.

- Hindi is among the top five most spoken native languages worldwide. Popularizing Hindi increases its international outreach.

- Hindi is an Indian heritage language that is thousands of years old. World Hindi Day helps preserve and propagate this heritage.

- Promoting Hindi aids cultural unity and integration not just in India but across the global Indian diaspora.

Hindi Language: Origin

Hindi belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is directly descended from Sanskrit through Prakrit and Apabhramsha. The grammar and core vocabulary of Hindi has its roots in Sanskrit. The name 'Hindi' comes from the Persian word 'Hind' meaning 'land of the Indus River'. This referred to the north Indian subcontinent where languages such as Khariboli thrived. Modern standard Hindi is based on the Khariboli dialect which emerged in Delhi and the surrounding western Uttar Pradesh region by the 10th century CE. Over the last millennium, Hindi absorbed vocabulary from Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and English leading to new variations like Modern standard Hindi.

Usage of Hindi Worldwide:

Apart from India, Hindi has official status in Fiji, Mauritius and Suriname. It is also recognized as a minority language in several other countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, UAE, UK and USA. World Hindi Day events and celebrations take place in many countries across the world. These help raise awareness about Hindi globally. Numerous schools and universities around the world offer Hindi as a foreign language course. The interest in learning Hindi has been rising steadily. Hindi cinema and Indian media has spread worldwide making Hindi more popular and familiar. Code-mixing of English and Hindi words is now commonly seen outside India too.

Is English Language Suppressing the Hindi Language?

While English is often seen as a threat to Hindi and native Indian languages, the two languages have co-existed for centuries. The overwhelming impact of English is undeniable but fears about the decline of Hindi seem exaggerated. Hindi remains strong as the common medium of communication in large parts of India. Creative variations like Hinglish have emerged organically from multilingual Indian communities.

Critics argue that promotion of English over Indian languages hampers inclusive development. But others cite English as an empowering link language in a linguistically diverse country. Balanced and inclusive language policies have been recommended. Hindi has shown itself to be adaptable as it continues thriving with steady growth in native speakers despite the increasing reach of English across India and globally.

While the dominance of English on work, education, pop culture fronts can't be denied, Hindi holds its own as the de facto national language and (Hindustani) lingua franca of India. Rather than suppressing Hindi, India seems to be moving towards a more pluralistic linguistic equilibrium. Celebrating World Hindi Day reaffirms Hindi's living vibrancy while also promoting multilingualism.