The World Hindi Day or as it is known as the Vishwa Hindi Diwas is marked on January 10 every year. The day is celebrated with its primary focus on the history and promotion of the Hindi language worldwide.
The World Hindi Day is actually celebrated on the same day when the first World Hindi Conference took place in 1975. The World Hindi Day marks the anniversary of the conference that was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, in Nagpur.
Mauritius Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was the chief guest at the first World Hindi Conference, which was attended by 122 delegates from 30 countries.
Since then, the World Hindi Conference has taken place in different countries like the United Kingdom, Mauritius, and the United States of America, among others. The World Hindi Day was first observed on this day under the prime ministership of Dr Manmohan Singh in 2006.
Different from National Hindi Diwas
Many people confuse the World Hindi Diwas with the National Hindi Diwas. While both events celebrate the Hindi language and work towards its promotion, they have a separate history and framework.
Unlike the World Hindi Diwas, the National Hindi Diwas is observed on September 14 every year. It recognises the day when Hindi was adopted as one of the official languages of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. It also marks the birth anniversary of one of the biggest proponents of the Hindi language, Beohar Rajendra Simha.
The name of the Hindi language owes its origin to the Persian word, Hind, meaning 'the land of Indus'. Hindi belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.
It is spoken in certain countries across the world, including India, Nepal, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Mauritius.
