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According to the official website of University of Calcutta, it’s Hindi department was established at 1918 during the tenure of then Vice-Chancellor Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee.
Every year, September 14 is observed as Hindi Diwas. (AI Image)
Hindi Diwas is observed every year on September 14 to commemorate the adoption of Hindi in Devanagari script as an official language of the Union by the Constituent Assembly on September 14, 1949. Hindi is one of India’s most widely spoken languages, but do you know which university established the country’s first Hindi department? While some say its Banaras Hindu University (BHU), others claim its Calcutta University.
According to the official website of University of Calcutta, it’s Hindi department was established at 1918 during the tenure of then Vice-Chancellor Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee. The university introduced Hindi at the postgraduate level, including an MA programme in Hindi. Acharya Sakal Narayan Sharma became the first professor associated with the department.
The establishment of the department marked an important step in the academic development of Hindi. Kolkata had already played a significant role in the growth of Hindi literature and prose. Writers such as Lallu Lal and Sadal Mishra were associated with the city, while Fort William College also contributed to the development of early Hindi prose.
What about BHU?
BHU is also closely associated with the history of Hindi education, but it did not establish India’s first Hindi department. Historical research places the establishment of its full-fledged Hindi department around 1922, several years after Calcutta University.
BHU later became an important centre of Hindi scholarship, with prominent scholars including Acharya Ramchandra Shukla associated with the university.
In 1967, student leaders at BHU launched a major movement demanding greater status and recognition for Hindi. One of the central demands was that Hindi should receive a status equal to English and be promoted more widely.
BHU founder Madan Mohan Malaviya was also involved in efforts to secure greater recognition for Hindi. According to BHU Professor Shriprakash Shukla, Malaviya collected the signatures of around 60,000 people and submitted a report to the then Governor-General, MacDonald, seeking recognition for Hindi in judicial proceedings. Hindi was subsequently recognised as a judicial language in 1900.
Hindi’s academic journey therefore predates the establishment of BHU’s Hindi department. The University of Calcutta’s 1918 milestone came at a time when Hindi was increasingly gaining recognition as a subject of higher education.
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Ask News18The University of Calcutta established India’s first Hindi department in 1918 during the tenure of Vice-Chancellor Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee. The university introduced Hindi at the postgraduate level, including an MA programme, with Acharya Sakal Narayan Sharma serving as the department’s first professor.
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