"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela
Every independent nation has its own language, which is its pride. For national unity and stability of the nation, a national language is necessary. The Hindi language is the official language of India.
Hindi Diwas is celebrated every year on 14 September to honor the Hindi language. On this day, it was declared as one of the official languages of India. A special day has been marked to celebrate its importance as the world's fourth widely spoken language. Hindi was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on the 14th of September 1949, as the official language of the Republic of India. Simultaneously, both English and Hindi were formerly used by the Government of India. However, the idea of using it as an official language was approved by the country's constitution on 26 January 1950. It was the first day ever when Hindi was used as an official language.
Since 1953 at the request of RashtraBhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha, 14th September has been celebrated every year as Hindi Diwas all over India to show the importance of the Hindi language in every region. This day also signifies the cultural incorporation of the 'Devanagari' script and the unification of primarily Hindi speaking Indian states; thereby, celebrating major literary pieces that have enriched India's literary resource as a whole.
Importance of Hindi Diwas
Hindi Diwas marks the day when Hindi became the official language of our country. This day reminds us of our roots. It reminds us of who we are and connects us to our past. No matter where we go, our language, culture, and values must stay with us.
In today's time, people are more inclined towards learning English, as English is used all over the world. While English is a worldwide language and its importance cannot be ignored, we should not forget that we are Indians and we should respect our national language. The adoption of Hindi as the official language proves that those in power recognize their roots and want Hindi to be given importance by the people.
India is greatly influenced by western customs. Indians want to dress like people in foreign, follow their lifestyles, and speak their language. They hardly care about Indian cultural heritage. While they praise the lifestyle of people in the West. Hindi Diwas is celebrated to pay respect to not only Hindi but the culture it brings with it.
Hindi – the fourth widely spoken language in the world
Hindi is the fourth widely spoken language in the world, with India having a majority Hindi-speaking population. Most of the countries where Hindi is widely spoken are Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Guyana, Suriname, and Fiji. People all over the world love Hindi songs and Hindi movies which clearly defines the affection towards this language.
Why is the Hindi language not getting priority?
Even though Hindi is the fourth widely spoken language in the world, people don’t give importance to Hindi. In most of the schools, colleges, and offices English is given more priority and Hindi lags behind.
It is common for parents and teachers to stress the importance of learning English, as it helps a lot in securing a job. It is sad to see that even for jobs and educational courses people have to be smart as the hiring executives select them based on their knowledge of English. Many people lose work opportunities simply because they cannot speak English fluently even if they have good working knowledge. Hindi Diwas is an attempt to awaken people and inculcate respect in them for the Hindi language.
Special events are organized on Hindi Diwas
Many schools and other institutions celebrate Hindi Diwas every year. Here are the special celebrations organized in honor of this day:
A function is organized in Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi in honor of the Hindi Diwas. On this day, Rajbhasha Awards are also given to the Departments, Ministries, Nationalized Banks, and Public Sector Undertakings. During the World Hindi Conference which was held in Bhopal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about the importance of our Hindi language and said that “Soon English, Hindi, and Chinese languages are going to rule the digital world.” Due to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the center, there has been an increase in the importance and recognition of the Hindi language and Hindi Divas.
In 2017, Union Minister Rajnath Singh (current Defence Minister of India) had also raised the issue of official language status for Hindi in the United Nations and told the importance of the Hindi language.
Let us know some fun facts about the Hindi language:
- Hindi is the official language of India.
- Hindi comes from the word “Hind” meaning “the land of the river Indus.”
- Hindi is essentially one of the members of the Indo-Aryan languages of the Indo-European family of languages.
- Hindi is written entirely in phonemic script. The words in this language are pronounced the same way they are written.
- It is one of the seven languages used to create web addresses.
- 425 million native speakers worldwide.
- 4 most spoken languages in the world.
- More than 140,000 active internet users.
- Each letter of the Hindi alphabet has its own independent and distinctive sound.
- Many English words are taken from Hindi.
- Around 78 percent of people speak this language.
- In 176 universities Hindi is being taught.
- Not only this, Hindi is dominated by print media, electronic media, national and international platforms, not only in social media platforms. Big companies like Google and Microsoft have also started working on a very large scale.
For those of you who are ashamed of speaking Hindi, let me tell you that English itself has borrowed a great number of words from Hindi. Avatar, yoga, bungalow, guru, jungle, khaki, karma, loot, mantra, nirvana, pajamas, typhoon, shampoo and thug, etc are some of the words which are used in the English language as well.
There are multiple benefits of learning another language. So, these are some of the reasons that you should learn the language if you already don't know, & teach your kids and make them aware of this language.
- Benefits you while doing business in India. If you know Hindi, it increases your chances to grow your business.
- It is a phonetic language.
- Hindi speakers can enjoy Bollywood movies seamlessly. For a person who wants to watch those classic Hindi movies, it is a major requirement.
- It can help while traveling. As Hindi is widely spoken in India it is sure to help you while on a tour in India.
- When we read or learn Hindi more parts of the brain are exercised as compared to English. As the Devanagari script is written, from left to right, and the vowel signs are positioned on top, it helps you to grow both the hemispheres of the brain which are equally used while reading the syllabic script.
- The English language has the highest number of speakers. China's Mandarin language comes next.
Hindi Diwas is celebrated with great enthusiasm in various regions and places. But there are many people who don’t even know about this day. It is time that people should recognize the importance of this day as it is a day to remember our national language and our cultural base.
This Hindi Diwas makes people aware of our dying language, Hindi. Let's show the world the importance of the Hindi language in our lives. All of us Indians have to stand by it, only then will Hindi be respected.
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