Hindi Diwas or Hindi Day is commemorated in India to mark the date of 14 Sep 1949, when a consensus was reached during the framing of the Constitution of India with respect to the languages accorded official status in the Republic of India. Despite Hindi not being designated as the national language, it is noteworthy that article 343(1) of the Indian constitution explicitly stipulates that Hindi in Devanagari script, along with English, holds the status of official languages in India.

But what is its popularity among the young people and students in the country?

Rekha Dewangan, a Hindi teacher from ACC Shram Niketan Higher Secondary School, Jamul (Chhattisgarh), feels that the importance of Hindi is diminishing indeed.

“We are responsible for bringing down the importance of Hindi as a language. There is no problem with other languages being taught in schools. But the whole perception that Hindi is a lesser language and English is a superior language is very sad and as Hindi teacher, I do not support this view. Hindi is a beautiful language. We still have this mindset where a Hindi medium-educated person is looked down upon. Why?” she laments.

Hindi teacher from ACC Higher Secondary School, Kymore (MP) Satyendra Dubey feels that often he does see Hindi being treated as a subject merely used to get marks in schools and not for learning among students, which needs to change.

“At present Hindi is just reduced to a second language, which is really sad. But we need to rise above this. We need to collectively work towards lifting Hindi as a language and take it forward. Hindi is connected to our feelings, our expressions. So, we can say that Hindi is a language which is understood in every state of the country. Hindi is our language and that’s why our great poet said Bharatendu Harishchandra said 'निज भाषा उन्नति अहै, सब उन्नति को मूल, बिन निज भाषा ज्ञान के, मिटन न हिय के सूल'. We need to accept it with all our hearts,” he shares.

Even External affairs minister S Jaishankar has said efforts were on to get Hindi recognised as an official language at the United Nations (UN).

That is why days such as Hindi Diwas becomes all the more important, feels Rachit Desai, a Hindi teacher from Ambuaj Vidya Niketan Ambujanagar (Gujarat). He says that it is great to see the Government of India taking measures to propagate the language at the world stage, which has proved to be very beneficial for the language’s popularity in India and abroad.

“The importance of the language Hindi has increased ten-fold at the international level. Be it through Hindi films or various conferences and universities where Hindi authors and writers are invited to speak and teach,” he says.

Even at the educational level, the Committee of Parliament on Official Language headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recommended that the medium of instruction should mandatorily be Hindi in all technical or non-technical educational institutions including central universities. In its 11th volume of the report presented to President Droupadi Murmu, the Committee stated that English should be the medium of instruction only where it is necessary and gradually English should be replaced with Hindi in those institutions.

A Hindi teacher from Ambuja Vidya Niketan, Upparwahi (Maharashtra), Brijesh Tripathi lauds this move.

“We need to tell young people and kids that Hindi is not just a language that we speak but it also helps you land good jobs. That way students will be encouraged to study the language at a higher level. I keep telling my students that Hindi as a language can take you far in your career. You can be more than just a teacher and professor. One can also succeed in life by studying Hindi and not just science and mathematics,” he explains.