About World Hindi Day
World Hindi Day, or Vishwa Hindi Diwas, is observed on 10 January, the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held at Nagpur in 1975. In 2027 it falls on Sunday, 10 January 2027. India has marked it since 2006, and the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian embassies lead it. It is about Hindi outside India, which makes it different from Hindi Diwas on 14 September.
Two Hindi days sit in the Indian calendar and people mix them up every year. This one, on 10 January, looks outward at Hindi beyond India's borders. The other, on 14 September, is about Hindi inside the government.
Why is World Hindi Day celebrated on 10 January?
World Hindi Day is on 10 January because the first World Hindi Conference opened in Nagpur on that date in 1975. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated it, 122 delegates from 30 countries attended, and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, was the chief guest.
The conference has been held roughly every three years since, in India and abroad, including Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, London, New York, Johannesburg and Fiji. The Ministry of External Affairs organises it, usually with a host government.
India began observing 10 January as World Hindi Day in 2006. The lead is taken by the Ministry of External Affairs rather than the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is the practical difference between this day and Hindi Diwas: the events happen in Indian embassies, high commissions and cultural centres abroad, and in Hindi departments of foreign universities.
| Day | Date | Who runs it | What it is about |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Hindi Day | 10 January | Ministry of External Affairs and Indian missions abroad | Hindi as a world language; the 1975 Nagpur conference |
| Hindi Diwas | 14 September | Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Official Language | The Constituent Assembly's 1949 decision on Hindi as the Union's official language |
| International Mother Language Day | 21 February | UNESCO | Every mother tongue, in memory of the 1952 language martyrs of Dhaka |
Where is Hindi spoken outside India?
Hindi travelled in two waves, and both are worth knowing if you are writing a message.
The first was indenture. From the 1830s, labourers from Bhojpur, Awadh and eastern Uttar Pradesh were taken to sugar colonies in Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname and South Africa. The Hindi they carried changed in each place. Fiji Hindi and Sarnami in Suriname became separate spoken languages with their own grammar, related to Hindi but not the same thing. Fiji's constitution names Hindi as an official language alongside English and iTaukei.
The second wave is recent: workers, students and professionals in the Gulf, Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia. Hindi classes in these places are mostly run by community associations, temples and weekend schools rather than governments.
Two institutions sit behind the day:
- The World Hindi Secretariat in Mauritius. The idea came from Seewoosagur Ramgoolam at the 1975 Nagpur conference. India and Mauritius signed a memorandum in 1999, Mauritius passed a law for it, and the secretariat began work in February 2008.
- The Hindi @ UN project, running since 2018 with the UN's Department of Global Communications. India pays for it through voluntary contributions, including about 1.16 million dollars announced in 2024, and it funds UN news bulletins, a website and social media accounts in Hindi.
How is World Hindi Day celebrated?
Indian embassies and high commissions hold kavi sammelans, essay and speech competitions, translation workshops and screenings. Hindi departments in foreign universities hold seminars. Inside India, schools, Hindi departments and some offices hold their own events, though the larger office programme belongs to Hindi Diwas in September.
If you want to mark it yourself, the useful things are small: read a Hindi writer you have not read, watch a film without subtitles, teach a child abroad one poem, or put your own name in Devanagari on your profile for the day.
What should you write on World Hindi Day?
Write at least one line in Hindi. Beyond that, the day suits messages that cross a border: to family abroad, to a foreign friend learning the language, to a teacher who keeps Hindi going in a place where nobody needs it for work.
Vishwa Hindi Diwas ki shubhkamnayein. Ghar se door reh kar bhi aapne bacchon ko Hindi sikhayi. Yeh koi chhoti baat nahi hai.
Happy World Hindi Day. Teaching Hindi on a Saturday morning to children who would rather be anywhere else is real work. Thank you for doing it.
Vishwa Hindi Diwas mubarak. Aapki Hindi pehle se bahut acchi ho gayi hai. Keep going, the films get funnier without subtitles.
Vishwa Hindi Diwas ki hardik shubhkamnayein, Dadi. Aapki kahaniyan hi meri pehli Hindi class thin.
Happy World Hindi Day. Here is to Hindi travelling well, and to Tamil, Bangla, Marathi and every other language we work in.
Vishwa Hindi Diwas ki badhai. Hindi ko duniya tak pahunchane ka kaam aap jaise logon ne kiya hai. Thank you for the translations.
Vishwa Hindi Diwas ki shubhkamnayein. Aaj ek Hindi kavita yaad karo aur phone par dadu ko sunao.
Do
- Send one line in Hindi, in Devanagari or Roman script, whichever the reader is comfortable with.
- For family abroad, mention the effort of keeping the language alive in a house where nobody outside speaks it.
- Name a poet, a song or a film rather than praising the language in general.
Avoid
- Don't call Hindi India's national language. The Constitution names none.
- Don't correct someone's Hindi or their accent on this day, especially a diaspora speaker's.
- Avoid forwarding messages with broken Devanagari spelling; on a language day people notice.
- Vishwa Hindi Diwas
- World Hindi Day, 10 January.
- Vishwa Hindi Sammelan
- The World Hindi Conference, held roughly every three years since 1975.
- Girmitiya
- Indian indentured labourers taken to colonies abroad from the 1830s; from the word "agreement".
- Fiji Hindi
- The Hindi-derived language of Indo-Fijians, named as an official language in Fiji's constitution.
- Sarnami
- The Hindustani language of Indians in Suriname, also spoken in the Netherlands.
- Shubhkamnayein
- Good wishes.
For the official-language day in September, see Hindi Diwas. For every mother tongue, see International Mother Language Day, and for the people who carry writing between languages, International Translation Day.
How to wish someone on World Hindi Day
World Hindi Day is about Hindi as a language that travelled: to Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, the Gulf, Britain and the United States. A good message says one line in Hindi and points outward, to a teacher abroad, a grandparent who kept the language alive in another country, or a friend learning it. Avoid ranking Hindi above other Indian languages; the Constitution names no national language.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is World Hindi Day in 2026 and 2027?
World Hindi Day is on 10 Jan every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is World Hindi Day in 2027?
World Hindi Day 2027 falls on Sunday, 10 January 2027.
Why is World Hindi Day celebrated on 10 January?
Because the first World Hindi Conference opened in Nagpur on 10 January 1975. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and attended by 122 delegates from 30 countries, with the Prime Minister of Mauritius as chief guest. India began observing the date as World Hindi Day in 2006.
What is the difference between World Hindi Day and Hindi Diwas?
World Hindi Day, on 10 January, is about Hindi as a world language and is led by the Ministry of External Affairs through Indian embassies abroad. Hindi Diwas, on 14 September, marks the Constituent Assembly's 1949 decision to make Hindi the official language of the Union and is observed in government offices inside India.
Is Hindi an official language of the United Nations?
No. The six official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Since 2018 India has funded a Hindi @ UN project that produces UN news and social media content in Hindi, but the language has no official status there.
Which countries outside India speak Hindi?
Hindi and languages descended from it are spoken by large communities in Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and South Africa, all rooted in indentured migration from the 1830s, and by more recent Indian communities in the Gulf, Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia. Fiji names Hindi as an official language in its constitution.
What is the World Hindi Secretariat?
The World Hindi Secretariat is a body based in Mauritius that promotes Hindi internationally. The idea was raised at the first World Hindi Conference in 1975, India and Mauritius signed a memorandum in 1999, and the secretariat started functioning in February 2008.
How do you wish someone on World Hindi Day in Hindi?
A simple and correct wish is "Vishwa Hindi Diwas ki hardik shubhkamnayein", which means heartfelt good wishes on World Hindi Day. Adding one line about what Hindi means to you, or a couplet you like, makes it personal rather than forwarded.
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