Today is World Hindi Day: Here is all about its origin and significance

Hindi enthusiasts across the world celebrate January 10 as World Hindi Day or Vishwa Hindi Diwas to mark the importance of the language.

History of World Hindi Day

World Hindi Day was celebrated for the first time on January 10, 2006, to mark the anniversary of the first time the language was spoken in the United Nations General Assembly — in 1949. The then Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, announced the decision.

However, way back in 1975, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the first World Hindi Conference. These conferences have been organised worldwide ever since.

Purpose of World Hindi Day

The purpose is to raise awareness about the language and its usage, and promote it as a global language.

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How World Hindi Day is celebrated

The Ministry of External Affairs organises events and activities around the usage and promotion of Hindi. Sometimes, the postal department issues special stamps to mark the occasion.

Schools sometimes celebrate World Hindi Day by organising debates, plays, quizzes, Hindi poetry recitals, and literature classes.

World Hindi Day is not the same as Hindi Diwas

Don’t confuse World Hindi Day with Hindi Diwas. The latter is celebrated on September 14 to focus on the promotion of Hindi within India. World Hindi Day focuses on its promotion across the world.

Some Hindi words have even made their way to the Oxford dictionary over the years. Here are some everyday Hindi words that have gone global:

Achcha: Oxford added as many as 90 words from Indian languages in 2017. Achcha was one of them. Oxford says it is “used to show that the speaker agrees with, accepts, understands, etc. something.”

Chakka Jam: Did you even know this could be in the Oxford Dictionary? Also added in 2017, chakka jam is “a protest in which people block a road or cause a traffic jam.”

Chamcha: The Oxford Dictionary describes a chamcha as “a person who tries too hard to please somebody, especially somebody who is important.”

Dadagiri: Added in the same year, dadagiri is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “the act of using strength and power to frighten or hurt weaker people.”

Didi: Oxford describes didi as an “older female cousin.”

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Jugaad: Oxford Dictionary also added jugaad to its list in 2017. The dictionary describes it as “a flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way.”

Jungle: Jungle was one of the first words the Oxford Dictionary picked up from India. (How can we forget The Jungle Book?)

Timepass: You may have thought you were speaking English when you said “I was going timepass,” but you weren’t until 2017. The dictionary describes it as “the action of spending time doing something, especially something that has no aim or is not very useful.”

Some other Hindi words in Oxford Dictionary are Bas, Bada Din, Desh, Diya, Chup, Funda, Gully, Jhuggi, Nivas, Natak, Sevak, Sevika, Surya Namaskar, among others.