IndiaPost.com - Official status sought for Hindi at UN

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The 8th World Hindi conference held in New York City July 13-15 concluded with a demand that Hindi be recognized as an official foreign language of the United Nations.

The three-day Conference organized by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, in association with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA, was kicked off with an impressive inaugural celebration appropriately held at the United Nations, attracting more than a thousand delegates from across the world. The theme for this conference was ‘Hindi on a Global Forum’ (Vishwa Manch par Hindi). Over three days, eminent poets, writers, litterateurs, scholars, artists, former and current lawmakers, senior Hindi journalists and promoters of the national language tried to establish Hindi as an international language adaptive to modern technology, as also a language that represents India’s rich cultural heritage and the Independence movement.

Notable among the celebrities were renowned Bollywood lyricist Gulzar and singer Pankaj Udhas.

The Conference deliberated on issues relating to the growth and presence of Hindi in the world including teaching of Hindi in foreign countries, use of information technology and modern technologies to increase its popularity.

The seven previous World Hindi Conferences were held at Nagpur (India), Port Louis (Mauritius, twice), New Delhi (India), Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), London (UK) and Paramaribo (Suriname).

The current Conference is estimated to have cost the Indian Ministry of External Affairs an estimated 40-50 million rupees (approx. $1.2 million) although a majority of the delegates had paid their way, according to a ministry spokesman.

Inaugural Day

It was a historic, if not symbolic day for Hindi language and its lovers to have its world conference inaugurated at the United Nations. In an unprecedented move, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon joined the inaugural event July 13, and made a unique gesture of solidarity by addressing the delegates in Hindi with a quirky "Namaste, kya haal chaal hai?," instantly winning the hearts of all those present. Stating in Hindi "Mein thora thora Hindi bolta hoon" the Secretary General said it was "unique and unprecedented" for a Secretary General to associate with a language-specific event such as this, but he did so "because of his special attachment to India and Indians."

Further establishing his association with Indians, the Secretary General said that besides his Chief of Staff — Vijay Nambiar – being Indian, there were several Hindi scholars who work at the United Nations.

Ban Ki Moon endeared himself to the audience, predominantly from India, by revealing that his son was born in India during his first diplomatic assignment in Delhi, and that his daughter was now married to an Indian.

Hindi, he said, was a language of harmony, building bridges between Indian of different ethnic backgrounds as well as with those residing around the world, and concluded his brief remarks with this Hindi line: "Is sammellan me bhaag lete hue mujhe bahut khushi ho rahi hai. Mai aapko shubhkamnaein deta hoon." (I am very happy to be participating in this conference.

My best wishes to all of you.) In a video recorded message played out on the occasion, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it clear that India would make a concerted and serious move to have Hindi recognized as an official UN language.

Singh said the effort was being coordinated by the Government of India and the World Hindi Secretariat in Mauritius. Singh suggested that Hindi, which is being propagated throughout the world thanks to Information Technology, should be further modernized by creating the relevant software and hardware. Further, he said Hindi literary works of even Indians living abroad should be promoted. "The development of a nation depends on the progress of its language," the Prime Minister said.

Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma who spearheaded the conference said that the involved presence of the UN Secretary General at the conference was a fitting response to all those who questioned him on choosing New York for holding the conference. Sharma said that the journey chalked out by Hindi from its first world conference in Nagpur in 1975 to reach the United Nations today is proof that the language has reached the world stage. India, he said, gives equal importance to all existing languages in the country, however, as the second largest spoken language in the world, Hindi deserves in place of pride among world languages. "Hindi is not merely a language, but it is the language of India’s freedom struggle associated as it was with the country’s historic, social and cultural heritage.

Even as the sounds of Hindi reverberated through the corridors of the United Nations, Sharma made a strong case for Hindi to be given the status of an official UN language, "I am sure that if we could reach here (the UN conference hall), we will soon reach the official level too."

Sharma pointed out although Hindi was associated with India’s heritage, it was also a modern language that has found compatibility with modern technologies like Information Technology.

Sharma urged the Hindi scholars and litterateurs present to make Hindi flexible enough and make it the language of communication for more people in the world to understand it. "Today the world wants to come to India following its economic boom; they want to be a part of our success story."

Later speaking to reporters, Sharma said that the fact that the Hindi conference was being held at the UN and that there were political leaders and Hindi lovers from more than 50 different countries participating shows that Hindi has reached its international level. "The conference’s theme of ‘Hindi on a Global Forum’ appears to have been made achieved," he said.

He assured that the government would diligently work on all the recommendations made by the conference. Responding to questions, he said that the Indian government, along with Hindi lovers around the world will launch a global movement to get the UN to recognize Hindi as one of its official languages. Organizing the World Hindi Conference in New York just a few weeks before the UN General Assembly sessions are scheduled to be held in September, was a move in that direction, Sharma said. Sharma, however, admitted that for the Indian government to formally make a proposal to the UN on this issue would involve several official formalities.

Stating that the Indian government was ready to spend any amount of money in this move, Sharma said, money would not be a constraint where national pride was concerned. Present on the dais on the occasion were Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Nirupam Sen, Dharambeer Gokhool, Minister of Education and Human Resources, Mauritius, Rajendra Mahato, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Nepal and Dr. Navin Mehta, Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, which co-hosted the conference.

In his welcome address, Ambassador Ronen Sen said the conference comes at a significant time as India prepares to celebrate its 60th Independence Day this August, as also for being conducted at the UN. Hoping that India’s national language gains its place among the UN official languages, Ronen Sen said Hindi should also be promoted as an option in American schools and colleges. In his remarks, Ambassador Nirupam Sen said the message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" sent out during the first World Hindi Conference in 1975 has proved prophetic.

Pointing out the recent UN resolution to recognize October 2nd (Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday) as Non-Violence Day, Sen said he was confident that Hindi will get its due recognition in the UN as well as in the world at large. The Mauritius minister said it was a matter of pride for Mauritius that the World Hindi Secretariat was situation in that country. "Hindi is the identity of our ancient culture for all of us living abroad," he said. He further expressed Mauritius Prime Minister Ram Ghoolam’s desire that the next World Hindi Conference be held in Mauritius. The Nepal Minister Mahato gave a lengthy account of how Hindi struggled and survived political vagaries in Nepal. On the occasion, Minister Sharma released two publications – Chetna and Gagananchal. Following the inaugural session, an academic panel headed by Dr. Girija Vyas of Women and Minorities Commission, discussed the issue of getting Hindi the status of an official UN language.

Hindi & Bollywood

Throughout the Conference the contribution of the Hindi film industry (Bollywood) to the promotion of Hindi was commended by speakers across the board. Even UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon commented that Hindi becomes a binding factor for million across the world thanks to Bollywood movies. Minister Anand Sharma said, "Not only do Indians the world over but now many non-Indians are watching Hindi films and have begun to learn and understand Hindi," he said. The conference session on the role of Hindi films in propagating Hindi evoked much interest. "Bollywood Mein Hindi", a documentary especially commissioned for the conference, was screened during the session. Veteran film writer and director Gulzar pointed out that Hindi films have given connectivity to India because "wherever you go, you feel at home by being able to communicate in Hindi". However, he also held out the limitations of Bollywood or cinema of any language stating, "Cinema is not a reformer, but a recorder."

Hindi Exhibition

Three different exhibitions held in consonance with the Hindi conference were inaugurated by Anand Sharma at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) which was the venue for all sessions following the opening day’s session at the UN. Inaugurating the exhibitions, Sharma said that it was imperative for Hindi to be in step with Information Technology to keep up with the technological advancements in the world. "Only then, will Hindi get the place it deserves in the world," he said. The exhibitions reflected the past, present and future of Hindi. The exhibitions were organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.