Hindi Diwas
Next: September 14, 2027
A day to celebrate Hindi.
The story
Where it comes from
Hindi Diwas, or Hindi Day, marks 14 September 1949, when India's Constituent Assembly, after three days of debate, adopted Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language of the Union. The compromise, known as the Munshi–Ayyangar formula, also allowed English to continue in official use and settled which form of numerals the government would use. On the suggestion of the Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti in Wardha, the day has been observed every year since 1953 to remember the decision and to promote Hindi.
How it's celebrated
The central event is an official ceremony at which the Rajbhasha awards are presented to ministries, public sector companies, nationalised banks and in-house Hindi magazines for their use of the official language. For many people it is simply a day to read, write or send a greeting in Hindi.
Did you know
- Hindi is India's official language, not its national language, and after protests in Tamil Nadu and other states, English stayed in official use alongside it.
- The same article of the Constitution says official numbers use 'the international form of Indian numerals', the digits 0 to 9.
- The Constituent Assembly also heard proposals for Hindustani and for Sanskrit as the official language.
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