World Hindi Day 2023 with theme "Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence" observed on 10th January

Digital Desk: Every year on January 10th, World Hindi Day, or Vishwa Hindi Diwas, is observed to raise awareness of the language around the world. 

It is also the day on which Hindi, India's official language, was first spoken in the United Nations General Assembly. On this day in 1975, Nagpur hosted the inaugural World Hindi Conference. Every year since then, such conferences have been held in various regions of the world. 

Notably, the language gained its name from the Persian phrase 'Hind' which means 'the land of Indus'. India, Trinidad, Nepal, Guyana, Mauritius, and other countries speak the language.

World Hindi Conference 2023 Theme: "Hindi - Traditional Knowledge of Artificial Intelligence" is the theme for this year. The Foreign Ministry, in partnership with the Fiji government, will host the 12th World Hindi Conference in Fiji from February 15 to 17. The location for the 2023 event was determined last year at the 11th World Hindi Conference in Mauritius.

World Hindi Day, also known as Vishwa Hindi Diwas, is observed to recognise the significance of Hindi as a language. It is regarded as one of India's recognised national languages, particularly in the country's north. The day is also observed to represent the Hindi-speaking population on a global scale. On the occasion of World Hindi Day, the Ministry of External Affairs organises several events around the world to increase awareness of Hindi.

In 1950, the Union of India made Hindi its official language. According to Article 343 of the Indian Constitution, Hindi in the Devanagari script is the official language of India. Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha, envisioned the first World Hindi Conference in 1973. It was held on January 10, 1975, in Nagpur. Its goal was to raise awareness of the language on a global scale. Thirty countries and 122 representatives attended the conference.

Vishwa Hindi Diwas was first observed in 2006, at the request of then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The date of January 10 was chosen since Hindi was first spoken in the United Nations General Assembly on that date in 1949. The World Hindi Conference was founded in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to bring together and honour Hindi professors, writers, and laureates who have contributed to the language's development.