By Dr. Munish Kumar Raizada.Hindi in USA:September 14 is commemorated as “Hindi Divas” in India and abroad. On this day, in 1949, the Constituent Assembly had adopted Hindi- written in Devnagri script- as the official language for Republic of India..In the year 2012, the Indian- American population was estimated to be 3.4 million as per data released by Center for American progress. If we add the number of illegal immigrants, the number would be much higher. As the population of Indians has grown in USA, so has the affinity to preserve and propagate Indian languages. Hindi has been growing because people speak and use it. However, conscious efforts are also being made by Indian diaspora. Hindu temples in USA are the commonplace for offering Hindi (and other regional languages) classes to the kids, typically by volunteers. USA abounds in local government-/municipality- run community libraries where patrons can avail books and resources free of cost. Literature in Indian languages and resources such as DVDs for Bollywood movies are often available in libraries in geographical areaswhere Indian population is significant. For example, I have personally witnessed the wide variety of literature in Hindi and Indian languages at Harold Washington library- housed in a towering elegant building- located in down town Chicago, and some libraries in Floral Park and adjoining areas in New York. .Over the years, several NGOs have come up in USA thathave been promoting Hindi.Educators’ Society for Heritage of India, HindiUSA, International Hindi Association and Yuva Hindi Sansthan are some of the notable names. On a commercial basis, events by Indian musicians,movie singers and poets bring Hindi directly to the Indians settled abroad. Hindi cinema has become well-trenched in the cities where Indian diaspora is in large number so much so that sometimes Bollywood movies are released first in foreign countries rather than India. In New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and several other cities, getting to feel Hindi through movies, concerts and social organizations is not difficult. In Chicago, I am a member of Hindi Lovers Club that has been promoting Hindi by holding monthly meetings and occasionally holding poetry programs (kavi-samelan) and other literary events. The monthly meetings often happen in Devon street area of Chicago, home to Indian and Pakistani market. Many desi people (mainly Pakistani) also live around. Members and guests recite poems, songs, stories and their experiences during such meets. It may be of interest to our Indian readers that in such meetings, occasional Pakistanis also join. .Is Hindi taught in schools and colleges in USA? English is the main language in USA and Spanish is the 2nd most common language spoken. Unlike India, USA has no official language, even though several states have declared English as the official language. According to American Community Survey (a part of United States Census Bureau) as of 2011, 21 % of people in USA speak a language other than English at home. Out of these, 62 % people speak Spanish, 1.1 % Hindi and 0.6 % Gujarati. There are more than 300 languages spoken in USA!In Chinese-dense areas, you will see schools offering classes in Mandarin language. In some areas of New York and New Jersey, Hindi is offered at school level and at some places, the students can even receive credit for it. In 2006, New York State Department of Education started conducting Hindi and Punjabi Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Regents examination, thereby enabling students to earn a diploma in Hindi. Now, LOTE exam is available in Bengali and Urdu also. The United States recognizes the need to develop for its citizens the opportunities to learn to communicate adequately in various languages and in the context of many cultures. In order to remain a world leader, it knows that it must provide for orderly development of native or ancestral languages as well as a choice of other languages for its people. Of various languages in USA, Hindi has been classified as a language of CRITICAL NEED because of the importance of the language in terms of trade and political reasons. STARTALK program is part of National Security Language Initiative that categorizes Hindi as a critical need foreign language. Thus, short courses (2-3 weeks) are offered to school students in Hindi. The STARTALK program is sponsored by the National Foreign Language Center which is funded by the US Department of Education (USED). The STARTALK for Hindi, Urdu and Persian language was rolled out in 2008 and continues till date. I spoke to Mr. Ashok Ojhawho lives in New Jersey and has been keenly associated with STARTALK programs. He is also President of a non-profit Yuva Hindi Sansthan that aims to promote Hindi language among the youth in USA and abroad. He says that STARTALK is offered in more than 15 locations in USA and attracts thousands of students. Hindi is taught at more than 100 universities in USA, typically at South Asian Study Departments. It is taught at all the Ivy League universities. University of Texas at Austin has a remarkable “Hindi-Urdu Flagship Program” wherein students actually get to spend a year in India as part of the curriculum.Similarly, California-based Defense Language Institute –a part of US Army- imparts language courses to its men in uniform and civil personnel working in the government and law enforcement agencies. Hindi is one of the dozen languages that the Institute teaches. Attitude towards Hindi:The readers may assume that Hindi is a popular language in the United States. This will be travesty of truth. Hindi is not the only language spoken by Indian diaspora scattered throughout USA. Secondly, even though regional languages are spoken by the families at homes, there is no serious attempt by the parents to actually make their kids study Hindi as a language. Thus, most desi kids growing up in USA learn what can be best described as a kitchen language and not actual academic language. Also, Indian Heritage speakers tend to believe that learning Hindi will not help them in their professional lives. Thus, we see many Indian origin children and youth who have taken up Spanish (rather than an Indian language) at school level as a second language after English. At a world level, however, Government of India –sponsored “World Hindi Conference” is a widely known effort to bring together Hindi scholars, academicians, journalists and Hindi lovers. The first ever World Conference was organized in Nagpur in 1975. The 8th Conference was held at New York in the year 2008. The most recent conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2012. Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, London, Suriname have been other hosts. Mauritius stands strongly in support of Hindi. It is credited with hosting the World Hindi Conference twice. Also, Mauritius is home to World Hindi Secretariat (http://vishwahindi.com). The idea of setting up such an institution was mooted by the then Prime Minister of Mauritius Sir SeewoosagurRamgoolam when he attended the first world Hindi Conference in 1975 in Nagpur. Finally, the governments of India and Mauritius signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the setting up of the World Hindi Secretariat on 20 August, 1999. The Secretariat has ambitious plans to set up units in all the continents of the world. Mauritius celebrates Hindi Day on January 10 of every year.There is a hope that efforts to advance Hindi will continue. For instance, an International Hindi Conference, Americas (Regional) was organized in New York in April of this year to discuss the theme of “The Hindi language in the 21st century of global world”.Is Hindi at risk?Hindi is the 4th commonly spoken language in the world, after Mandarin, Spanish and English. There is a significant chunk of the humanity that speaks Hindi. Thus, Hindi is not in danger.However, its scholarly radiance will only enhance if serious attempt is made to propagate the language. As Mridula Sinha- a renowned scholar and newly appointed governor of Goa- rightly put it a function in Mumbai on September 14:“Hindi needs to be made a language that touches the heart and feeds the stomach.”“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way”. – Frank SmithThe author is a Chicago-based medical doctor (Neonatologist) and a socio-political commentator. Twitter: Follow @drmunishraizada