A tale of development of Hindi Language

(Book Review)

Many Hindi lovers and common people are still not familiar with the development journey of Hindi language. Hence, for a long time, the need of such a book was being felt, which contains the horoscope of the development of Hindi. From this point of view, the creation of the two authors Shri Keshav Rai and Shri Anant, “Hindi Ki Vikas Yatra” seems to fulfil the expectations of the people.

There is a total of 36 chapters in this book, in which the account of the development of Hindi has been presented. In this sequence, an attempt has been made to know and understand the appropriate description of other Indian languages, analysis of Hindi literature according to its chronology such as ancient period, medieval period and modern period, discussion about the changes coming in Hindi language, discussion of the obstacles in the path of development of Hindi language, history of Indian education etc.

The authors believe that the efforts to make Hindi the national language gained momentum after independence. However, even after independence, Hindi was not made the national language as per the expectations of the public and it remained only a state language. The dominance of English remained intact in the country and it continued to be the language of employment. The so-called intellectuals could not get out of the spell of English. As a result, Hindi remained a folk language i.e. the language of the poor and deprived sections.

The book also discusses the English Hatao Andolan, opposition to Hindi in the southern states, Hindi Prachar Sabha in the south, eminent personalities promoting Hindi in the south, Indian Hindi Parishad, Indian Language Council, Central Hindi Directorate etc. It also throws light on the positive role of theatre and films in the development of Hindi. Many people in non-Hindi states have learned to speak Hindi by watching Hindi films. Khichdi language or Hinglish has also helped in expanding the opportunities of Hindi. Social media is also enriching it.

Being flexible and easy, Hindi is being used easily in the fields of computers, internet, mobile, various means of communication etc. The acceptance of Hindi has increased rapidly at the national and global level. At present, it is a major language of many countries. Hindi is progressing and its future is very bright. I opine, there is no exaggeration in the arguments of both the authors.

Book- “Hindi Ki Vikas Yatra”

Author-Shri Keshav Rai and Anant

Publisher-Story Mirror Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

Publication Year-September 2024

Price (Hardbound)- Rs.499/-

Reviewer-Satish Singh, Ahmedabad