Hindi's simplicity, sensitivity attract people: Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people on the occasion of 'Hindi Diwas' on Wednesday and said that its simplicity, spontaneity and sensitivity always attract people. Taking to Twitter, the PM extended greetings to all those people who have contributed tirelessly in making Hindi prosperous and empowered.

"Hindi has brought special honour to India all over the world. Its simplicity, spontaneity and sensitivity always attract. On Hindi Diwas, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all those people who have contributed tirelessly in making it prosperous and empowered," Modi said in a tweet.

Every year Hindi Diwas is observed on September 14, which is dedicated to the Hindi language after it was announced as the official language of the Union of India. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, had officially declared September 14 as the Hindi Diwas.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also greeted people on the occasion and said Hindi is the friend of all Indian languages and it "unites the whole nation in a thread of unity" as an official language. "Official language Hindi unites the nation in the thread of unity. Hindi is a friend of all Indian languages. Modi`s government is committed for the parallel development of all local languages including Hindi. I salute the great personalities who have contributed in the preservation and promotion of Hindi. Happy `Hindi Diwas` to all," Shah tweeted in Hindi. The Constituent Assembly of India declared Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, to be the official language of the Union of India on September 14, 1949. English is the second official language.

The decision of using Hindi as an official language of India was legalised by the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950. Hindi was made one of the official languages in order to streamline government operations in a multilingual nation. Spoken as a native language by 258 million people, Hindi is recognised as the fourth most spoken language in the world.