New Delhi: India is observing World Hindi Day on Monday to spread awareness about its importance across the world as an international language. The day also marks the anniversary of the World Hindi Conference, which was held for the first time in the year 1975.


World Hindi Day is especially observed by Indian embassies abroad.


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Know the history, significance of the day


In 1975, the World Hindi Conference took place in Nagpur on January 10 for the first time. The conference held in Maharashtra was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and it witnessed participation from a total of 30 countries.


In 2006, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh declared that January 10 will be observed as World Hindi Day every year. It was perhaps the first time that the Ministry of External Affairs also started celebrating the day in the Indian missions abroad.


Not only spreading awareness about Hindi as an international language, the World Hindi Day also tried to focus on inculcating an interest in and a passion for the language.


Hindi is the fourth most spoken language worldwide after English, Spanish and Mandarin. In India, it is among the main official languages along with English.


On this day, events and ceremonies are orgaised at state and local levels. The President of India also gives away prizes in different categories for excellence in different fields pertaining to Hindi.


How is it different from National Hindi Diwas?


World Hindi Day is not the same as National Hindi Diwas that is celebrated every year on September 14.


National Hindi Diwas is observed to commemorate the declaration of the Hindi Language as one of the official languages of the Government of India. It was on this day in 1949 that Hindi was adapted as one of the official languages of India.


However, people get confused between the National Hindi Diwas and the World Hindi Day.


Some famous quotes about Hindi


“No one can stop the promotion and development of Hindi”: Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant


“Hindi is the soul of Indian culture”: Kamalapati Tripathi


“A nation is dumb without national language": Mahatma Gandhi


“Hindi is not the language of any one state but is the most spoken language in the country”: William Carey