Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed Hindi Diwas and the sixth All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai on September 14, 2026. The Home Ministry's account placed the event within the government's work on Hindi and cooperation among Indian languages. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, and Union ministers of state for home affairs attended.
Shah highlighted the expansion of Hindi Shabd Sindhu, saying more than 50,000 words from local languages had been incorporated and that the dictionary had reached eight lakh words. He presented this work as part of stronger connections among Indian languages in administration, science and literature, while emphasising the role of the mother tongue in understanding the country.
The ministry's advance programme, published on September 13, scheduled presentation of the Rajbhasha Gaurav and Rajbhasha Kirti awards for 2025-26. It also listed a discussion on the historical, literary and cultural dimensions of Vande Mataram, a commemorative issue of Rajbhasha Bharati and a session devoted to Town Official Language Implementation Committees. An exhibition was planned with 32 stalls from institutions, banks, organisations and ministries.
The conference belongs to an annual series begun in 2021. The ministry listed earlier host cities as Varanasi, Surat, Pune, New Delhi and Gandhinagar before the 2026 Maharashtra event. That programme brings the awards, publishing work and local implementation committees into the same administrative forum, rather than limiting Hindi Diwas observance to a ceremonial speech.
The Department of Official Language's policy statement supplies the legal context: Hindi in Devanagari is the Union's official language, while English may also be used for official purposes under the Official Languages Act. It says the Act, rules and directions specify which official work uses Hindi, English or both. The department describes its approach to increasing Hindi's use as persuasion, incentives and goodwill.
