Hindi language is making its mark beyond the Indian borders now. In the USA, in more than 12 universities and in over 40 colleges, Hindi is being taught as a subject. In each of the university, on an average, 50 to 80 students, and in the 40 colleges, 25 to 35 students on an average, are doing research on Hindi.
It is noteworthy that professor Dr. Dalpat Singh, a Hindi professor from a small village called Sonkra in the Pali district of Rajasthan, is the first professor from India, who is teaching Hindi literature along with being a PHD guide in Hindi in the USA. He has been teaching Hindi in the USA for the last 15 years now. Dr. Dalpat Singh’s elementary education took place in Sonkra and he pursued his BA degree from Jodhpur, after which he completed his MA, MPhil and PHD from JNU, New Delhi and Presidency University, Kolkata.
He was then appointed as a professor in the USA’s University of Texas, Austin in the Asian Research Department. He was also a Hindi professor in the Columbia University, New York, and received the ‘Best Teacher’ award there. He has also completed his research on Mughal North India, Bhakti, and Riti poetry. Dr Singh has also given lectures in Romania, Canada, Switzerland, and Russia. His articles have also been published in the world’s prominent journals of Asian research and renowned Hindi magazines.
Coming back to the promotion of Hindi as a subject in the USA, the Harvard, Columbia, Yale, and Cornell Universities, UC Berkeley, University of Texas, Austin, Chicago, and New York University, are all among those institutions which have a Hindi course running. Here, one can find courses from basic Hindi to Hindi literature and research on Hindi is also offered to be done. Along with Hindi, Indian culture, religion, history, and Bhakti poetry is taught as well.
