On 10 January 2017, India celebrated Vishwa Hindi Divas (World Hindi Day) and
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Overseas Indian Day) in the Egyptian capital to make the
language popular in the country.
The Indian Embassy in Cairo and its cultural wing the Maulana Azad Centre for
Indian Culture (MACIC) organised cultural performances at Hanager Theatre at
the Cairo Opera House.
During the celebration, India’s Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya
awarded certificates and prizes to all the students who studied Hindi and Urdu
classes in MACIC.
“This time we introduce the special trophy for the best Hindi student. It’s called
‘India Cup’ and it's a rolling trophy, so every year the best student will be awarded
this trophy,” the ambassador said.
The celebration included performances by Hindi and Urdu students of MACIC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech was screened during the event.
“I was touched by cultural performances that were presented by the students. It
shows their deep love and affection and attachment to the language and the bond
between our two countries,” Bhattacharyya said.
“I’m particularly excited that the young people of Egypt are building these
relations with India,” he added.
“We also look forward to the Hindi scholarships under which we provide an
opportunity to the young people of Egypt to go to India and study the programmes
at the Central University of Hindi in Agra,” he explained.
“We have started the study of Devanagari and Hindi at Ain Shams University. We
hope to establish a Hindi Chair sometime in the future,” the Ambassador added.
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With the arrival of Indian professor Naidu Subbarao last September, the first
Indian Chair in Egypt at the Ain Shams University was made operational.
The Chair, which is at the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology,
is not only the first Indian Chair in Egypt but also in the Arab world.
To propagate the use of Hindi abroad, World Hindi Day is celebrated by Indian
Embassies the world over since 2006.
Watani International
10 January 2017