Hindi Divas or National Hindi Day is celebrated every year on September 14 to mark the adaptation of Hindi (written in Devanagari script) as the official language by the Constituent Assembly on September 14, 1949.
Apart from Hindi Divas, ‘World Hindi Day’too is observed on January 10 every year. The day commemorates the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur of January 10, 1975, which saw 122 delegates from 30 countries participating in it. The aim of the conference was to promote Hindi language worldwide.
Hindi got its name from the Persian word Hind, meaning ‘land of the Indus River’. Turkish invaders in the early 11th century named the language of the region Hindi, ‘language of the land of the Indus River’. It is the official language of India, English being the other official language.
Hindi is also spoken in some countries outside India, such as in Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Nepal. Hindi in its present form emerged through different stages, during which it was known by other names. Hindi is the third most spoken language among the total languages spoken in the world. Also, Hindi is spoken in many countries including Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, USA, UK, Germany, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad, Mauritius, and South Africa.The modern Devanagari script for Hindi came into existence in the 11th century.
Oxford Dictionary included words like ‘Jawan’,’ Loot’, ‘Bada Din’, (big day) ‘Achha’, (Good) ‘Bacha’ (Child) and ‘Surya Namaskar’ in 2017. It underlines the importance and acceptance of Hindi. There were many writers like Kaka Sahib Kalelkar, Maithili SharanGupt, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Seth Govindadas, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar etc. who made important contributions to make Hindi the official language.
As for now, there is a strong need to connect Hindi with ‘necessity’. Until original writing in Hindi emerges in fields like science, medicine, engineering, management, and more, the future of Hindi won’t improve. Hindi enthusiasts or organizers should seriously consider this issue during Hindi weeks, Hindi days, etc., without getting emotional but through thoughtful deliberation. In today’s economically driven and physical age, respect for any language will not be determined by our excessive sentimentality towards its literature but by its ability to provide employment opportunities. The indifference towards Hindi and the inclination towards English that we see in today’s youth is not unjustified. Practically speaking, besides poetry and stories, nothing substantial has been written in Hindi. One reason for this is that Hindi speakers have not contributed anything new. Whether it’s science, technical knowledge, medicine, linguistics, sociology, or economics, in all these fields, India continues to teach and learn new research and theories from Western countries.
If our young students want to pursue studies in science, medicine, engineering, management, or law, they have no choice but to know English. Moreover, there are hardly any well-written books in Hindi on these subjects, except for law. Even the translations of law books into Hindi are so complex and inaccurate that students find it more convenient to read English books, instead.
The proper translation of technical and scientific terms from English into Hindi has also eluded us until now. The government has relied on some hired translators to create translations of English technical terms, but when the translation doesn’t match the original, no one will buy that translated book.
To address this, a national panel of skilled translators should be established. The translation of books from academies depends on dictionaries. It’s just word for word. An excellent translator should have a good knowledge of the subject, be a proficient writer in both languages, and have a grasp of both languages’ nuances. The translation of a music-theory-book should be done by a Hindi scholar who knows music. Likewise, a knowledgeable person of Chemistry could be best suited to translate a book of Chemistry.
Fact of the matter is that if in the next one- or two-decades Hindi is not established as a language of science, technical education, and employment, the coming generations will relegate it to being merely a language of literary enthusiasts and orators.
The writer is Former Fellow, IIAS,Shimla
