World Hindi Day is celebrated every year. Its purpose is to raise awareness for the promotion and to increase the spread of Hindi worldwide and present Hindi as an international language. The World Hindi Conferences were initiated with the aim of developing and promoting Hindi globally, and the first World Hindi Conference was held on January 10, 1974, in Nagpur. Since then, this day has been observed as ‘World Hindi Day.’
The inaugural celebration of World Hindi Day took place was first on January 10, 2006. Since then, it has been observed every year on January 10th. The announcement to celebrate World Hindi Day annually on January 10th was made by the former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on January 10, 2006.
Hindi, referred to as Standard Hindi, is a major global language and an official language of India. At the central level in India, English serves as a co-official language. It is a standardized form of the Hindustani language, where the use of Sanskrit-derived words is more prominent than Arabic-Persian words. Hindi is the constitutional language of India and the most spoken and understood language in the country. While not the national language of India as per the constitution, Hindi holds the status of the official language. In terms of the global economic stage, it is considered one of the ten powerful languages in the world. That is why celebration of World Hindi Day is significantly important.
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Hindi Language
The Hindi language derives its name from the Persian word ‘Hind,’ meaning ‘Land of the Indus River.’ In the 11th century, during the Turkish invasions, the language of the region around the Indus River was called Hindi, signifying the ‘language of the land of the Indus River.’
- It is the official language of India, with English as the second official language.
- Hindi is also spoken in some countries outside India, such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nepal.Hindi has evolved through various stages, known by different names.
- The earliest form was Apabhramsa. In 400 AD, Kalidasa wrote a romantic play named Vikramorvashiyam in Apabhramsa.
Facts to know about Hindi on World Hindi day
Hindi ranks as third most widely spoken language globally. Approximately 600 million people speak Hindi globally. Only Mandarin and Spanish are spoken by more people than Hindi. World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10th each year to promote the expansion and dissemination of Hindi. On this day, various programs related to Hindi, including speech and essay writing competitions, are organized in many schools and educational institutions worldwide.
Some of the greats of Hindi literature
Mahadevi Verma
Mahadevi Varma is a renowned Indian poet born on March 26, 1907, in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. She began writing Hindi poetry at a young age, with notable works such as “Amrit Ki Barse Badariya” published in 1931. Besides being a Hindi poet, she was also a freedom fighter and an educationist. She received the Padma Bhushan in 1955 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1977. Some of her outstanding works, including “Chand Ka Tukda,” “Jeevan Ki Arzoo,” and “Jeevan Ki Asha,” are widely acclaimed among people of all ages.
Munshi Premchand
Munshi Premchand is a renowned Indian Hindi and Urdu novelist and short story writer. He was born on July 31, 1880, in Lamhi village district Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. His first work, a short story collection titled “Soz-e Watan,” was published in 1907. Munshi Premchand authored over 300 short stories and 14 novels. Some of his famous works include Goodan, Kafan, Rangbhoomi, and Seva Sadan.
Jaishankar Prasad
Jayshankar Prasad was a renowned Hindi poet, playwright, and novelist born on January 30, 1889, in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. His first poem, titled “Vyatha,” was published in 1906. Dharma, Jhansi ki Rani, and Tamasha are most loved and read creations of Jaishankar Prasad.
Suryakant Tripathi (Nirala)
Suryakant Tripathi Nirala was a renowned Hindi poet, novelist, and essayist born on February 21, 1896, in a small village in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh. He adopted the pen name Nirala, meaning extraordinary and unique, for his writings. One of his famous works is “Aankh ki Bhasha.” He was known for using straightforward Hindi language in his compositions. In recognition of his notable literary contributions, he was honored with the Padma Bhushan award in 1954.
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar was a renowned Hindi poet and playwright, born on September 23, 1908, in the Shahabad district of Bihar. He chose the pen name Dinkar, meaning the sun and light, for his writings. Some of his notable works include Saptarshi, Rashmirathi, and Kurukshetra, all acclaimed across age groups. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha and was honored with the Padma Bhushan in 1959 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 for his literary contributions.
Amrita Pritam
Amrita Pritam was a renowned Indian novelist, essayist, and short story writer born on August 31, 1919, in Gujranwala, Punjab, British India. She was the first Indian woman to be honored with the Sahitya Akademi Award for her work “Aj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu” (Today I invoke Waris Shah). Some of her famous works include “Raseedi Ticket” and “Amrita Pritam ki Kahaniyan.” “Pinjar” is one of her most acclaimed novels. She received the Padma Shri in 1969 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2004 for her literary contributions.
Dharamveer Bharti
Dharamvir Bharati was a renowned Hindi author, playwright, and poet born on January 25, 1926, in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. He began writing at a young age, and some of his famous works include Andha Yug, Aadhe Adhure, and Krishna Ki Chetavani. He received various awards for his contributions, including the Padma Shri in 1971 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980, the latter bestowed for his play Andha Yug.
Krishna Sobti
Krishna Sobti was a renowned Hindi author and novelist, born on February 17, 1925, in British India, which is now part of Pakistan. She wrote over 20 novels, numerous short stories, and other works that gained popularity among readers of all ages. Some of her famous works include Mitro Marjani and Zindaginama. She received several awards for her contributions, including the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 for her novel “Mitro Marjani” and the Padma Shri in 2009.
Harivansh Rai Bacchan
Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a famous Hindi poet, novelist, and the father of the renowned film actor Amitabh Bachchan. He was born on November 27, 1907, in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. “Madhushala” was the collection of his first published poems, released in 1935. He also served as a Member of Parliament from 1984 to 1989. Some of his notable works include Madhushala, Madhubala, Madhukalash, and Agnipath.” He received several awards in recognition of his literary contributions, including the Padma Bhushan in 1976 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
Bisham Sahni
Bisham Sahni was a renowned Indian Hindi author, playwright, and actor. He was born on August 8, 1915, in Rawalpindi, British India, which is now part of Pakistan. He started writing at a young age and is considered a prominent figure in modern Hindi literature. Some of his famous works include Tamas, Haath Ki Lakeer, and Ek Ghalib Ke Baad. He was honored with the Padma Bhushan award in 1984 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985 for his novel Tamas.
Above are the great poets, novelist, playwright and story writers of Hindi who made this language rich and their works should be appreciated on World Hindi Day every year.
Some important points of Hindi language grammar
Hindi grammar or हिंदी व्याकरण, consists of these essential components:
वर्ण (sound): In Hindi language, a single character is called a “वर्ण”(Varna) and a group of these characters is referred to as “वर्णमाला” (alphabet).
शब्द (word): A word is a independent meaningful sound formed by one or more characters.
पद (phrase): In a sentence, the words used are called “पद.” There are mainly five types of पद:
- संज्ञा (Noun)
- सर्वनाम (Pronoun)
- विशेषण (Adjective)
- क्रिया (Verb)
- अव्यय (Adverb)
काल (Tense): In Hindi grammar, there are primarily three types of tenses, which are also common in the English language: Present (वर्तमान काल), Past (भूतकाल), and Future (भविष्य काल).
वाक्य (sentence) A meaningful group of two or more words that expresses a complete thought is called a sentence.
सर्वनाम (pronoun) Pronoun comes in place of a noun. It is used in place of a specific noun and can be used for both male and female.
विषेषण (adjective) An adjective in Hindi grammar refers to a word that describes the specificity of a noun or pronoun.
क्रिया (Verb) Which refers to a word or group of words that indicates the action or occurrence of an activity in Hindi grammar.
वचन (Number) Number, which is a grammatical category in the analysis of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs that indicates their quantity. In most languages, there are two numbers: singular and plural. However, in Sanskrit and some other languages, there is also the dual number. In Hindi grammar, there are two numbers as well.
On this World Hindi Day we should feel proud of our language and commit to ourselves that we will take out time from our everyday routine to read more of our rich Hindi literature and works of great Hindi writers.
Very Nice
Hindi …..we proud of our language.
Very nice 👍