Hindi Diwas 2019: History, significance and all you need to know about world's fourth most spoken and one of India's official languages

Hindi Diwas 2019: Every year on 14 September, the nation gears up to celebrate Hindi Diwas, which marks the significance of the day when the Constituent Assembly after Independence adopted Hindi as the official language of India.

After the Constituent Assembly took the decision in 1949, the Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha on 1953 requested to observe 14 September as Hindi Day every year and broadcast the language in every region.

Hindi is one of the 22 scheduled languages spoken in the country. Wikimedia Commons

Written in the Devanagri script, Hindi is one of the 22 scheduled languages spoken in the country and one of the official languages of the Union Government. The other is English language.

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According to Ethnologue, a US organisation owned by Christian group SIL International that compiles a global database of languages, Hindi is the fourth most-spoken language in the world.

History

During the 200 years of British rule in India, Hindi became oppressed and was considered a backward language. After the colonial rule ended on 15 August, 1947, India found itself standing on the threshold of a new era wherein the task was to build a strong and independent nation. Along with finding a footing in the social, economic and political grounds, India also faced the challenge of linguistic cohesion. There were questions in people's mind what could be the official language of India. Consequently, on 14 September, 1949, the Constituent Assembly selected the Hindi language as the official language of India.

Hindi is also the primary language of communication between the Central government and state governments. However, the state governments were given the option to choose their own official language, after which the Constitution gave official language status to 22 other languages in India, along with Hindi and English.

In addition, the government awarded the distinction of classical language to Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. Classical language status is given to languages which have a rich heritage and independent nature.

Significance

Celebrated across the country by schools, on Hindi Diwas students participate in literary programmes. Organised by school and colleges, on this occasion students are told about the importance and history of the Hindi language. There is extensive participation in various competitions such as essay writing, poetry recitation, debate etc. Social media users also take the opportunity to share quotes and poems to celebrate the day.

To honour the language, Hindi Diwas is observed to unite our diverse nation. The reason behind celebrating Hindi Day is also to inculcate a feeling of national identity and pride.

On this occasion, the President presents the Rajbhasha awards Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi to those who have contributed immensely to the growth and promotion of Hindi.