India tries to get Hindi included in UN official languages

India Monday said that it is trying to garner 129 votes in the United Nations to get the country's official language Hindi included in the list of the global body's official languages.

"The way India's global stature is growing... for the International Day of Yoga, we got 177 votes, our morale has gone up. And we are now trying for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the media in the central state of Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal.

She added: "We feel after we get permanent membership, the work (of getting Hindi included in the UN) will become easier. We are busy trying to get the 129 votes, the financial burden is not a question."

Hindi is widely spoken across India and by over half a billion people in the world.

Source: XINHUA