NEW DELHI, September 13 (H.S.):Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will address the inaugural session of Hindi Day and the Sixth All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai on Monday. The two-day conference will deliberate on the development of Hindi as the official language, its coordination with other Indian languages, language and technology, translation, and the wider promotion and use of Hindi. The inaugural session will also witness the presentation of the ‘Rajbhasha Gaurav’ and ‘Rajbhasha Kirti’ awards for 2025-26.

According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, its Department of Official Language has been organising the All India Official Language Conference every year since 2021. The journey, which began in Varanasi, has since travelled to Surat, Pune, New Delhi and Gandhinagar, and this year reaches Maharashtra. The conference will be attended by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, both Deputy Chief Ministers, Members of Parliament, scholars, litterateurs, educationists and senior officials from various ministries and departments of the Central Government.

During the inaugural session, institutions and individuals will be conferred the ‘Rajbhasha Gaurav’ and ‘Rajbhasha Kirti’ awards for outstanding work and noteworthy contributions in the field of the official language during 2025-26.

Several books and publications will also be released during the conference. These include a special commemorative issue of the Department of Official Language’s magazine ‘Rajbhasha Bharati’, dedicated to the national song ‘Vande Mataram’; ‘Bharatiya Gyanatantra: Srot aur Swaroop’; ‘Shiv Anadi Hain, Anant Hain’; and ‘Andheron Se Ujalon Tak’, a compilation of writings by prison inmates.

A special session on ‘Vande Mataram’ will be a major attraction of the conference. Playback singer Hariharan, senior journalist and author Nilesh Mishra, and Akhilesh Mishra, who has been researching ‘Vande Mataram’, will participate in the session. Researcher Milind Prabhakar Sabnis will discuss the historical, literary and cultural dimensions of the national song. Joydeep Chattopadhyay, a fifth-generation descendant of ‘Vande Mataram’ author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, will also be present at the event.

The conference will also feature a special session on the role of Town Official Language Implementation Committees. The session will discuss the work and achievements of these committees in implementing Hindi as the official language, while committees that have demonstrated exemplary performance will be honoured.

On September 15, the second day of the conference, lyricist and author Manoj Muntashir will participate in a special session. This will be followed by a cultural programme organised by the Maharashtra Government, showcasing the state’s rich cultural and artistic traditions.

An exhibition at the conference venue will feature a total of 32 stalls set up by various institutions, organisations, banks and ministries. The stalls will showcase initiatives, publications, work and achievements related to Hindi and other Indian languages.

The two-day conference will deliberate on a range of issues, including the development of Hindi as an official language, a language of the people and a link language; its coordination with other Indian languages; language and technology; translation; literature; and the wider promotion of Hindi.

Article 343 of the Constitution of India provides for Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language of the Union, while Article 351 places the responsibility for promoting, developing and enriching Hindi upon the Union. In keeping with this constitutional mandate, the conference will focus on strengthening dialogue and partnership between Hindi and other Indian languages.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar