'Hindi should not be treated as rival to Nepali language'

Hindi should be promoted in Nepal and the language should not be considered as a rival to Nepali, former Prime Minister and noted litterateur Lokendra Bahadur Chand said today.
"Hindi language is in practice in Nepal since a long time. There is a need to promote both Hindi and Nepali language simultaneously," he said at a function organised by Embassy of India here to mark the World Hindi Day.
Chand, who had published his first collection of stories in Hindi and authored some 4-5 books in Hindi, said Nepal's Constitution has given the status of national language to various languages spoken across the country including Hindi, though Nepali is considered as the official language.

"Hindi should not be considered as a rival to Nepali language, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of India, Binaya Kumar said that Hindi is being used as a link between Nepal and India and there is a need to keep the language out of politics.
Former minister Dambar Narayan Yadav and chair of Hindi Department at Tribhuvan University of Kathmandu Sweta Dipti spoke about the importance of Hindi in cementing ties between Nepal and India.

To mark the day, Hindi poetry symposium was also organised in which around 15 poets recited poems written in Hindi.

World Hindi Day is observed to make people aware about the importance of Hindi language and to promote the language globally.
The day marks the anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was held in 1975.