World Hindi Day 2023: Significance of celebrating third most spoken language globally

World Hindi Day, also known as Vishwa Hindi Diwas, is celebrated on January 10 every year by Hindi enthusiasts across the world to mark the importance and celebrate Hindi as a language. Hindi is the third most widely spoken language in the world, following Mandarin Chinese and English, with around 600 million speakers worldwide.

The Union of India designated Hindi its official language in 1950. The 1973 World Hindi Conference was the brainchild of Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha. Nagpur served as the host city on January 10, 1975. Its objective was to make the language widely spoken. The conference was attended by 122 representatives in total from 30 countries.

Significance of World Hindi Day 

Hindi is celebrated on World Hindi Day as a time to acknowledge its universality. Along with appreciating the contributions of Hindi speakers, this unique day also places a heavy emphasis on fostering a love for the language. Additionally, this occassion raises awareness and promotes the use of the Indian language.

How is it celebrated?

On January 10, 2006, the first World Hindi Day was celebrated. Former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh adopted it. On this day, several events are scheduled all around the world to celebrate and promote the language's rich heritage. These typically take the shape of literary competitions, open forums, and cultural events and are regularly held by educational institutions.

Events like poetry readings, tests, cultural events, speech competitions and debates are planned on this day. Additionally, the Indian Postal Department also releases unique commemorative stamps to mark the growth of Hindi as a language. 

World Hindi Day: Theme 

The Minister of External Affairs this year will collaborate with the Fiji government to host the 12th World Hindi Conference from February 15–17 in Fiji.

The conference’s main theme in 2023 is ‘Hindi’: Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence’ and will be held at the Denarau Island Convention Center in Nadi, Fiji. 

“Several exhibition related to the development of the Hindi language will be organized at the conference venue,” reads a post on the World Hindi Conference’s official website. 

(With ANI inputs)