The 'bhasha' of India

THE mother tongue of 180 million people and the second language of almost 300 million people across the globe, Hindi has been a unifying factor in India’s freedom struggle and an integral part of the country’s identity. On September 14, 1949, Hindi (in Devanagri script) was adopted as the official language of the country, connecting people from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The initiative to celebrate Hindi Diwas was led by Beohar Rajendra Simha, who played a critical role in promoting Hindi's official recognition.

Hindi was known by different names in different eras. At the earliest stage of its evolution, it was 'Apabhramsa'. In 400 AD, Sanskrit scholar and literary playwright Kalidas composed a romantic play titled 'Vikramorvashiyam' in Apabhramsa.

Hindi is mostly influenced by Sanskrit, which dates back to nearly 5,000 BC, and owes its origin to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language group. The word 'Hindi' comes from the Persian word 'Hind', meaning the 'Land of the Indus River'.

The river falls into Pakistan after passing through Tibet and the northernmost part of India. For all its richness, it was not easy for the language spoken by the majority of population to gain status and acceptance. Not only did the non-Hindi speaking states offer resistance, but also, like today, the upper educated class wanted English to be given more prominence, terming it the global language of development.

Back in the day, the decision to use Hindi as the official language was met with widespread agitation, especially by non-Hindi speaking states like Tamil Nadu. DMK leader CN Annadurai wrote a letter to PM Jawaharlal Nehru, protesting against the imposition of Hindi across India.