The corridors of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), long dominated by English and French, reverberated with Hindi for the very first time on this day in 1977. The voice was that of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then External Affairs Minister in the Morarji Desai-led Janata Party government, who later went on to become the Prime Minister. His speech, delivered in Hindi at the 32nd session of the UN General Assembly on October 4, 1977, not only set a precedent but also showcased India’s cultural confidence before the world.

Today marks the 48th anniversary of that momentous occasion when Hindi was introduced on a global platform of diplomacy. For India, it was not merely a matter of linguistic assertion but a symbolic assertion of self-respect and identity in the comity of nations.

The ye

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