Located in the United States of America, the International Hindi Association (IHA), or Antarashtriya Hindi ‘Samiti’, is one of the most vibrant Hindi institutions in the world. Its programs and activities focus on fostering the cultural heritage of India through preservation and expansion of knowledge of Hindi language and its literature among Indians abroad. The activities such as Hindi classes, youth camps, poetry recitals (kavi sammelans), literary symposiums and publications promote and inculcate human values inherent in the Indian culture. This non-religious, non-political and non-profit lingo-cultural organization is run entirely by volunteers with the support and patronage from its growing membership worldwide.
BACKGROUND:
Hindi, the national language of India, is the world’s second most spoken language - spoken by almost half a billion people throughout the world. It is the primary means of expressing modern Indian culture within and outside of India. India's cultural spectrum, from its rich countryside folk lories, to devotional bhajan songs such as Om Jai Jagdish Hare, to romantic film songs are all expressed through Hindi by hundreds of millions of people all around the world everyday. The International Hindi Association was established with the vision to preserve and promote this broad cultural spectrum through the knowledge of Hindi and its literature.
The IHA (or Samiti) is the premier Hindi institution in the United States that strives to preserve and promote India’s culture through language and literature among Indians abroad. It was established on 18 October 1980 in Roslyn, Virginia, USA by the eminent Hindi scholar late Dr Kunwar Chandra Prakash Singh. The IHA is run by volunteers and managed by a constitutionally elected Board of Directors through its numerous local chapters scattered throughout the United States. It publishes a widely acclaimed quarterly magazine Vishwa and a newly introduced electronic magazine eVishwa.
In addition to the magazines, annual marathon kavi-sammelans or poetic meets around the US and Canada with famous Hindi poets has been the hallmark of IHA’s increasingly popularity. Past years have seen the likes of Kaka Hathrasi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Neeraj, Hullad Muradabadi, Ashok Chakradhar, Surendra Sharma, Som Thakur and Kunwar Bechain, among others. For broader community outreach, IHA has partnered with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan of New York, India Society of Worcester in New England, Hindi Sahitya Sabha of Toronto in the past, to name a few. It has also collaborated with the University of Connecticut, University of California, University of Pittsburgh, Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
IHA's GOALS & OBJECTIVES:
• To foster the cultural heritage of India through preservation and expansion of knowledge of Hindi language and its literature among Indians abroad through activities such as Hindi classes, poetry recitals (kavi-sammelans), literary symposiums and publications.
• Promote & inculcate human values inherent in the Indian culture by creating global awareness and appreciation for the Hindi language.
• Collaborate with sister organizations in cultural, academic, publishing and literary areas to unify efforts and resources on common activities for broader community outreach.
• Establish a worldwide pool of Hindi scholars, writers and poets for quality literary symposiums, kavi-sammelans, and publications such as Vishwa and eVishwa.
• Establish a standard curriculum of Hindi as a second language, and Hindi classes in the Indian community centers, high schools and colleges in North America.
• Arrange youth groups and camps to create interest and enthusiasm among children of the families living in North America to learn and speak Hindi in their daily social lives.
