Hindi Diwas: Mahatma Gandhi once called Hindi the language of the masses. (File)
A language is a tool that facilitates communication between a sender and a receiver. Given India's huge diversity of culture and tradition, a number of languages are spoken in the country. But most people find it easy to communicate with each other in Hindi, besides their own regional languages. This makes Hindi a preferred language for many. To celebrate its popularity and mark its adoption in the Devanagari script as one of the official languages of India, we celebrate Hindi Diwas on September 14 every year.
A language is not just a tool for communication, but it also ties people together. For Hindi, its various dialects like Braj, Khari Boli, Bundeli, Awadhi, Bagheli act as knots. Mahatma Gandhi once called Hindi the language of the masses. He also talked about making Hindi the national language of the nation. Hindi Diwas is a way of reminding people that Hindi stands tall as the fourth most-spoken language in the world after English, Spanish, and Mandarin.
Hindi Diwas: History
After India gained Independence, a need for an official language was felt to streamline communication between government departments and to reach out to the public. The Constituent Assembly then accepted Hindi as the official language of India on September 14, 1949. The first Hindi Diwas was celebrated in 1953. Hindi was adopted as one of the official languages under Article 343 of the Indian Constitution.
Hindi Diwas: Significance
The idea behind dedicating a day to promote Hindi in itself suggests that the language has not achieved its full potential. For a language to get wider acceptance and thrive, it has to become a language of the masses and not remain confined just to cultural events, some say. While literary and cultural events in support of Hindi should be welcomed, there's a need to take these events to the public, possibly by taking advantage of technology. On this day, many organisations give awards to writers, poets, and cultural activists who have contributed to enriching the language. Schools and colleges organise quiz competitions too.