The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), the cultural arm of the High Commission of India in Colombo, organized the second Bharat-Sri Lanka Hindi Sammelan on January 12, 2026 at Sri Lanka Foundation, Colombo. The event witnessed the participation of over 400 scholars, teachers, and students of Hindi from both Sri Lanka and India, symbolising the deep cultural and linguistic ties between the two nations.
The event was inaugurated by H.E. Santosh Jha, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, in the presence of Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Seneviratne, Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education of Sri Lanka, who served as the Guest of Honour. A major highlight of the event was the felicitation of renowned Hindi scholars of Sri Lanka, who have been serving decades for promotion of Hindi language in Sri Lanka.
In his inaugural address, High Commissioner Jha highlighted Hindi’s rising global significance as the third most widely spoken language, with over 600 million speakers worldwide. He applauded the efforts of Hindi scholars and educators in Sri Lanka and expressed gratitude for their collaboration in organizing the event. He also emphasized the SVCC’s initiatives to promote Hindi, including scholarships for Sri Lankan students to study in India, capacity-building programmes for professors, schoolteachers, and students to enhance proficiency in Hindi, academic and cultural exchanges fostering the growth of Hindi studies in Sri Lanka.
The daylong celebrations included one academic sessions featuring five distinguished speakers from Sri Lanka, a poetry recital showcasing the artistic richness of Hindi in the country, an open forum encouraging dialogue on the role of Hindi in modern education and cultural performances highlighting the shared heritage of India and Sri Lanka.
The event was concluded with the performances of Hindi film songs by Old Hindi Film and Song Lovers’ Association of Sri Lanka. It is noteworthy to mention here that there were over 100 writers and scholars participated the Sammelan from 19 Indian states and representatives of 8 universities along with over 50 schools and organizations of Sri Lanka. At the inauguration, the journal ‘Sri Lanka Hindi Samachar’ and a Hindi translated book comprising 21 short stories of renowned Tamil author Ayathurai Santhan were also released.
World Hindi Day, observed annually on January 10, commemorates the day in 1949 when Hindi was first spoken at the United Nations General Assembly. The occasion also recalls the first World Hindi Conference, held in Nagpur in 1975. Today, Hindi is taught in 88 schools and 10 public universities across Sri Lanka, reflecting its growing popularity in the island nation.
The Bharat-Sri Lanka Hindi Sammelan served as a platform to strengthen the linguistic and cultural ties between the two nations and to celebrate the shared commitment to the promotion of Hindi.
