Local residents recognised for promoting Hindi at world conference
Two local members of Hindi Shiksha Sangh, South Africa, were recently honoured at the 12th World Hindi Conference which was held in Nadi, Fiji.
The conference, which took place from 15 to 17 February 2023, conferred a special recognition on the organisation for preserving and promoting Hindi. The award was presented to the Sangh's current president, Raj Dhanlall, a Pietermaritzburg resident.
The South African contingent at the conference also included Champa Bositsumune, also a local resident and Prof Usha Shukla from Durban.
Dhanilall said it was a special privilege for him to accept the award on behalf of the many stalwarts and Hindi school organisations who are essentially the custodians of the Hindi Shiksha Sangh.
"What made the award more special was that the Sangh is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year," Dhanlall said.
He added that it is not only acknowledgement for what has been done thus far in the promotion of the Hindi language, but also serves to inspire the onward journey that South African Hindi scholars continue to take in harnessing all that comes with a language intertwined with a rich, timeless heritage.
Bositsumune said that she was excited when she received the invitation from the government of India to be part of the South African delegation.
"I felt very proud to be a South African among all the other nationalities and excited when the Hindi Shiksha Sangh was recognised with the award," she said.
The conference was inaugurated by the Honourable Dr. S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs in the government of India.
The dialogue revolved around the theme: Hindi: from traditional knowledge to artificial intelligence.
Representatives at the conference were of the opinion that Indian knowledge, tradition and other traditional knowledge systems should be integrated with modern information, knowledge and research techniques like artificial intelligence. The arguments and discussions were frank, robust and thought-provoking.