World Hindi Day 2023 was celebrated by the Indian Consulate in New York on January 14, 2023, in collaboration with many Hindi organizations, dedicated to the promotion of the language. There were several cultural activities promoting Hindi. The program included a dance performance by Indian-American youth.
World Hindi Day is celebrated by the Consulate every year in January to commemorate the anniversary of the Hindi language being spoken for the first time in the United Nations General Assembly in 1949. A special theme is set as the focus of the celebration’s activities.
The day is also celebrated by Indian government offices, embassies, consulates and cultural centers around the world in many different countries including Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Romania and more. This year the main conference was scheduled to be held in Fiji 15-17 January, and the main theme in 2023 is ‘Hindi: Traditional Knowledge for Artificial Intelligence’.
World Hindi Day (Vishwa Hindi Diwas) has been celebrated since 2006 and marks the anniversary of the Hindi language being first spoken at the United Nations General Assembly in 1949. Today, Hindi is one of the four most spoken languages in the world. world, with close to 600 million people speaking it in various countries, including a large Hindi-speaking diaspora.
The theme of this year’s World Hindi Day “to make Hindi a part of public opinion, although it does not necessarily mean that one has to leave their mother tongue” aims to promote Hindi languages around the world. It places equal emphasis on one’s mother tongue, which should not take a back seat while using Hindi.
More than a hundred people celebrated World Hindi Day at the Indian Consulate in New York. The party was held in collaboration with many local organizations. Consul General Randhir Jaiswal spoke at the event which began with the reading of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message.
In his message, Modi lauded the programs organized by India’s consulates, cultural centers and offices around the world. “It is said that ‘Bhasha Vishwam yojayti’, meaning language joins the world,” the message read. The message also noted how Hindi has played an important role in spreading Indian culture through various platforms in today’s technology world.
India is the mother of many languages and cultures, constantly inspiring Indians with this rich heritage, the Prime Minister said. The importance of the Hindi language is twofold: that of propagating our cultural heritage and that of promoting international brotherhood, the message said. World Hindi Day gives us an opportunity to realize the importance of Hindi as a language of expression and celebrate it, the Prime Minister said, expressing the hope that Indian lovers will use Hindi on World Hindi Day and contribute to making it integral. part of future generations of people of Indian origin.
The Indian Consulate in New York regularly organizes special celebrations on this day. His special celebration in 2022 was attended by many Hindi scholars and professionals. Consul General Randhir Jaiswal had promised his office’s support to promote Hindi and other Indian languages.
One of the initiatives of the New York Consul General’s office has been the publication of an online literary magazine ‘Ananya’, with noted Hindi poet Anoop Bhargava as managing editor. ‘Ananya’ is now published in Russia, Australia, Kenya and Tanzania, bringing the literature of these countries into Hindi. The New York Consulate has also supported various organizations including the Hindi Sangam Foundation and Shikshyatan, a New York-based cultural organization which also organizes International Hindi Conferences since 2014. Another organization supported by the Consulate is the Yuva Hindi Sansthan with Ashok Ojha as president. Yuva Hindi Sansthan was awarded Fulbright-Hays Abroad Group Projects by the US Department of Education to conduct a 4-week study tour in India.
World Hindi Day in San Francisco
Consulate General of San Francisco and Consul General Dr. TV Nagendra Prasad Rao celebrated World Hindi Day on the evening of January 15, 2023. Professor Nilu Gupta, recipient of Pravasi Bharatiya Sanman 2021, was the chief guest. The program was in collaboration with the Hindi organization Hamari Bhasha and was telecast live. Las Vegas, Nevada also joined the program.
In keeping with the theme of the Hindi Sammelan, scheduled to be held in February, the program began with computer-assisted virtual lighting of the lamp and Saraswati Vandana by Trusha Verma. Consul General Rao read out the special message that Prime Minister Modi sent. Other speakers at the event included Dr. Jagdish Vyom, Manju Mishra who recited a poem, 8-year-old Sonika Gupta who recited the Gayatri Mantra and 7-year-old Smit Shimpi who sang a Hindi film song for children. Many other children performed during the evening.
World Hindi Day in Chicago
The Consulate General Chicago also held a series of cultural activities to celebrate the day, along with the reading of PM Modi’s message.
Many Indian embassies and cultural centers around the world organized cultural programs to celebrate World Hindi Day. These programs included dance performances, music concerts and plays showcasing India’s rich cultural heritage. They held seminars, debates, quizzes and speech competitions to promote Hindi and online events.
In India, World Hindi Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm, with debates, elocution competitions and seminars in schools and colleges. Film festivals, drama competitions and classical music performances were also part of the day’s celebration.
