What if I told you this place promotes Hindi and protects old writings? This is the story of the Nagari Pracharini Sabha. It is an organization with a long history.
The Nagari Pracharini Sabha is dedicated to Hindi and the Devanagari script. It was founded in 1893. Three students from Queen’s College in Varanasi had the idea. Their names were Babu Shyamsundar Das, Pandit Ramnarayan Mishra and Shivkumar Singh.
Many important people joined in the first year. These included Pandit Sudhakar Dwivedi and George Grierson. Ambikadatt Vyas and Chaudhary Premghan were also members. The Nagari Pracharini Sabha wanted to make Khariboli official. It also worked to save old books in Braj Bhasha and Awadhi. Researchers went to villages. They looked for old handwritten books that were in danger of disappearing. Now, the Sabha has over 20000 manuscripts. It also has over 125000 books.
The Nagari Pracharini Sabha played a key role. It helped start Saraswati. This was the first monthly magazine in modern Hindi. Chintamani Ghosh from Indian Press started it in 1900.
Dictionaries are among the Sabha’s many publications. The Hindi Shabdasagara by Shyamsundara Dasa was first published long ago. It came out between 1916 and 1928. A new edition was published between 1965 and 1975. The Sabha also held the first All India Hindi Literature Conference.
The Sabha helped the Bharat Kala Bhavan grow. This Bhavan is a museum. It added the Roerich Room in 1932. It launched the art journal Kala Nidhi in 1942. The Bhavan participated in exhibitions. These exhibitions took place in Kolkata, New Delhi, Varanasi and London. Later in 1950, the collection was given to Banaras Hindu University.
The Nagari Pracharini Sabha has faced problems recently. There was a legal fight about its leaders. But the government is trying to help. The Uttar Pradesh government will start the Bharatendu Academy. The Ministry of Culture wants to save old writings. They will make them look better. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts will help.
The Nagari Pracharini Sabha has done much for Hindi. Because of its efforts, Nagari was allowed in government offices. This started in 1900. Government workers had to learn both Hindi and Urdu. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya helped make this happen. He also worked to get Nagari used in courts. He collected signatures for a petition. By 1900, Nagari was used in courts and primary schools. This was in the North Western Provinces and Oudh.
The Arya Bhasha Library is another important part of the Sabha. It was started in 1896. It has many old and rare books. It is a very important place for Hindi scholars. The Nagari Pracharini Sabha continues to publish books. These books cover Hindi literature and grammar. They have published books on famous poets. Surdas, Tulsidas and Kabirdas are among them. The Nagari Pracharini Sabha remains vital today.