Hindi Diwas: History, Significance and Interesting Facts

Every year, Hindi Diwas is observed on September 14 to celebrate the adoption of Hindi as one of the two official languages of India. On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, the President of India presents the Rajbhasha awards to people for their contribution to the language, at a ceremony in Delhi. Our Constituent Assembly recognized and adopted Hindi – an Indo-Aryan language written in the Devanagari script – as the official language of the newly formed nation on September 14, 1949. The day is celebrated across schools, colleges, offices, and organizations across India. Hindi essay writing, poems, letters, and other such competitions are conducted on this day to showcase the importance of the day and raise awareness about our mother tongue. Students and people are encouraged to participate in literary and cultural programs as well. Hindi has been used as a literary language since the 12th century. Many Indian leaders during India’s struggle for independence adopted Hindi as a symbol of national identity.

Interesting Facts About Hindi Day

• Hindi is the most spoken language in India. About 78% of the people of the country speak and understand Hindi.
•  Hindi is the fourth most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and English. Hindi is also spoken in countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nepal.
• Bihar became the first state in India to adopt Hindi as its official state language. It replaced Urdu with Hindi in 1881. Following this, Hindi also became the official language of other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana & Rajasthan among others
• The first piece of literature on the history of the Hindi language was composed by a French writer “Grasim the Taisi”.
• In 1977, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first external affairs minister addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the first time in Hindi.
• The word “Namaste” is the most commonly used in the Hindi language.
• The first web portal of Hindi came into existence in 2000, Since then Hindi started making its mark on the Internet, which has now gained momentum.
• According to “Google”, the consumption of Hindi content on the Internet has increased a lot in the last few years.
• English words like Avatar, Jungle, Guru, Karma, Mantra, Yoga, Guru, Bungalow, Loot, Pajamas, Shampoo, Thug, and many more are borrowed from Hindi.
• Hindi is one of the 7 languages in India that is used to create a web address (URL).
• In 1918, in Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Mahatma Gandhi for the first time talked about making the Hindi language a national language. Gandhiji also called Hindi the language of the public.
• On 26 January 1950, Hindi was recognized as an official language in Article 343 of the Constitution.
• Every year from 14 September to 21 September, Rajbhasha Week or Hindi Week is celebrated on the occasion of Hindi Diwas. Different competitions are organized. Several events are organized in the school and offices. Its basic objective is to increase the spirit of the development of the Hindi language among people by not just limiting it to the Hindi Diwas only. During these seven days, people explained the benefits of the development and use of the Hindi language through essay writing and other activities.
• Bhasha Samman has been started on Hindi Diwas to inspire people towards Hindi. This honor is given annually to such a personality of the country, who has made a special contribution to the use and upliftment of the Hindi language among the people.