National Hindi Day - 14 September

Why in News ?

National Hindi Day is celebrated every year on 14 September. The main objective of celebrating this day is to increase the importance of Hindi language, encourage its use and remember the efforts to establish it as the official language of the country.

History and Constitutional Provisions

• The decision to make Hindi the official language of India was taken on 14 September 1949. On this day, the Constituent Assembly accepted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union of India.
• This decision was included in Article 343 of the Constitution, according to which:
  • "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi and the script shall be Devanagari. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals."
• Hindi got the status of official language in India on 14 September 1949, but till date no language has got the status of national language constitutionally.
• The first Hindi Day was celebrated in the year 1953.
• Hindi is one of the 22 languages ​​included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Why is Hindi Day celebrated ?

• This day provides an opportunity to promote the use of Hindi and to reach it to more and more people in daily life.
• This day is a symbol of expressing respect and pride towards the official language of India.
• On this day, through various programs, people are made aware about the history, literature and its importance of Hindi.
• The celebration of Hindi Day preserves and promotes Hindi literature and culture.

Major celebrations and activities

• 'Hindi Pakhwada' or 'Hindi Month' is organized in all the ministries, departments and offices of the Central Government. During this time, essay writing, debate, poetry recitation and translation competitions are organized in Hindi.
• There are Hindi related competitions and cultural programs for students in schools, colleges and universities. These include speeches, poetry recitations and plays on Hindi Diwas.
• The Government of India honours individuals and institutions doing excellent work in Hindi with the Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar and Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar. These awards recognise their contribution to the promotion of Hindi.

Evolution and History of Hindi:

• Its name is derived from the Persian word 'Hind', which means 'land of the Indus River'. 
• In the 11th century, Turkish invaders named the language spoken around the Indus River as Hindi.
• This language is a descendant of Sanskrit and has gone through many stages to reach its present form.
• The form of the modern Devanagari script also developed in the 11th century. 
• Hindi is the official language in India while English is the second official language.
• Hindi is the third most spoken language in the world (after English and Mandarin).
• Apart from India, Hindi is also spoken in countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Nepal.