At the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur (1975), the first Prime Minister and Father of Nation of Mauritius, Sir Seewoosagar Ramgoolam, as leader of the Mauritian delegation to the Conference, proposed the setting up of a permanent World Hindi Secretariat (WHS) in Mauritius. The proposal was warmly welcomed and subsequently adopted at the later World Hindi Conferences. To formalise the proposal of WHS, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on August 20, 1999 by the then High Commissioner of India Shri M. L. Tripathi and the then Minister of Education & Scientific Research of Mauritius Hon. Ramasamy Chedumbarum Pillay. The foundation stone of the Secretariat was laid by the then Minister of Human Resource Development of India Hon’ble Sri Murli Manohar Joshi during his visit to Mauritius in 2001. The land for the WHS building has been provided by the Government of Mauritius, construction of the building will be made by the Government of India. 

The WHS bill, vetted by the Government of India was passed unanimously by the Mauritian Parliament and became an Act on November 6, 2002.The Act was subsequently proclaimed by the Government of Mauritius on September 12, 2005. Meanwhile an agreement was signed between the Government of India and the Government of Mauritius on November 21, 2003 in New Delhi to pursue the work for setting up of the WHS. As per the agreement (1) the first Secretary General of the WHS is from Mauritius (Dr. (Mrs.) Vinod Bala Arun) and the first Deputy Secretary General is from India (Dr. Rajendra Prasad Mishra) (2) there is an apex Governing Council composed of the Ministers of External Affairs, Human Resource Development and Culture of India and their respective Mauritian counterparts. The Governing Council also has two eminent persons in the field of Hindi from both sides. Shri Balkavi Bairagi and Dr.Ratnakar Pandey are nominees from India while Shri Ajamil Matabadul and Shri Satyadev Tengur are from Mauritius. 

The WHS Act and the Agreement provides for an Executive Board of the WHS composed of the Secretaries of the Ministries of External Affairs, Human Resource Development and Culture, and the High Commissioner of India in Mauritius from Indian side and Permanent Secretaries of Education & Human Resources, Foreign Affairs, Art & Culture and the Prime Minister’s Office from Mauritius side. The Secretary General is the Ex-officio Secretary of the Executive Board, without voting rights. The first Executive Board meeting was held in May 2007 in Mauritius. Beside other issues, it was agreed to in the meeting that the budget outlay would be equally shared by both sides. The first meeting of the Governing Council was held in January 2008 in New Delhi. The second Executive Board meeting was held in May 2009 in New Delhi.

The main objective of the WHS is to promote Hindi as an international language and further its cause for recognition at the United Nations as an Official Language.

Contact details:

World Hindi Secretariat 
Swift Lane, Forest Side 
Tel : 676 1196/ 6705026 
Fax : 676 1224 
Email : whsmauritius@intnet.mu