Hindi and Internet literacy

In the field of knowledge, humanity's greatest achievement is the Internet. By combining the computer and telephone technologies, miraculous change has been brought about in the field of information and communications. If a person cannot use the Internet, he/she is considered functionally illiterate.

E-mail, e-commerce, e-governance etc. could be possible only through the Internet. By setting up a website on the Internet, anyone can publish and propagate his/her thoughts and activities. Any information in the world can be obtained on the Internet almost instantly without any expense.

Presently, the entire world is using the Internet, but some countries are using it more and some less. In India, about 5 per cent population uses the Internet. This is very low in comparison to developed countries where Internet is used by more than 70 per cent people.

In India, English is considered to be the only language on the Internet. This situation is, however, changing through the Unicode. Most of the world's languages can be seen on the Internet in Unicode format. Indian languages, especially Hindi, are now visible on the Internet through Unicode.

Hindi is India's national language and also the world's third most spoken language. It is necessary that the use of Hindi on the Internet is increased and appropriate steps taken in this respect. Otherwise, Hindi-speaking people will be left behind in the field of information, communications and knowledge.

Hindi-speaking people having no access to the Internet fall in two categories. In the first category, there are people who are literate in Hindi but do not know how to use the Internet. In the second category, there are people who cannot read or write Hindi at all.

Use of the Internet through Unicode has become very simple for literate people. Information, news, literature etc. in Unicode Hindi are now available in abundance. Facilities for translation into and from Hindi to other languages are also available on the Internet.

Hindi-speaking illiterate people can be taught to read and write Hindi in a simple way through Romanaagrii and SARAL Hindi scripts. After learning the simplified script of Hindi, they can easily use the Internet. Simple lessons on the Internet can also be effective tools for self-learning.

Rational arguments and detailed information about Hindi language, scripts, Unicode, Romanaagrii and SARAL Hindi are available on this website. Hindi-Urdu literature in different scripts is also availabe. This website provides an appropriate venue for promoting Hindi literacy.