14 September: National Hindi Divas

The National Hindi Divas (हिंदी दिवस), an annual literary-day is being observed on 14 September in Hindi speaking regions of India and other countries with Hindi speaking population.
Observance of the day seeks to propagate Hindi language and its cultural heritage and values. It also seeks to promote the Matra Bhasha i.e. mother tongue of India and show its importance as a language in the country and the world at large.
On this occasion President Pranab Mukherjee will present the Rajbhasha awards at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Rajbhasha awards were instituted by the Department of Official Language of Union Home Ministry to recognize the excellent contribution of Ministries, Departments and Nationalized Banks in the field of Hindi.
The day is also celebrated in the schools, colleges, offices, organizations and other enterprises as a Hindi Diwas with the unique programs and competitions organized related to Hindi poems, story recitations and vocabulary quizzes.

About National Hindi Divas

• Hindi Divas is celebrated on 14th September every year to mark adaptation of Hindi language as the official language of India by the Constituent Assembly of India on 14 September 1949.
• The decision of using Hindi as the official language was ratified by the Constitution of India which came into effect on 26 January 1950.
• Under the Article 343 of the Indian Constitution, Hindi written in Devanagri script was adopted as the official language. But presently, there are 2 official languages: Hindi and English.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2016