Oxford University Press Selects 'Aatmanirbharta' (Self-Reliance) As Hindi Word Of The Year For 2020

Oxford University Press has selected ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) as the Hindi Word of the Year for 2020. The publisher said the in the early months of the pandemic when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s COVID-19 recovery package, he emphasised the need to become self-reliant as a country, as an economy, as a society and as individuals, in a bid to navigate the perils of the pandemic. 

The word was chosen by an advisory panel of language experts Kritika Agrawal, Poonam Nigam Sahay and Imogen Foxell. The Oxford Hindi word of the year is a word or expression that is chosen to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance.

There was a massive increase in the usage of ‘aatmanirbharta‘ following the Prime Minister’s address, highlighting its increased prominence as a phrase and concept in the public lexicon of India, it said. One of the standout successes of the entire ‘Aatmanirbhar‘ Bharat or self-reliant India campaign is the large-scale manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine in India. During the Republic Day parade, the Department of Biotechnology highlighted the ‘Aatmanirbhar‘ Bharat campaign and showcased the COVID-19 vaccine development process in its tableau at Rajpath.

“In an unprecedented year, ‘aatmanirbharta’ found resonance with a wide cross-section of people as it is seen to be an answer to the revival of a COVID-impacted economy,” said Oxford University Press India managing director Sivaramarkrishnan Venkateswaran. 

WHAT DOES AATMANIRBHARTA MEAN?

Aatmanirbharta means self-reliance. The word was chosen by an advisory panel of language experts Kritika Agrawal, Poonam Nigam Sahay and Imogen Foxell, news agency PTI reports.

WHAT IS OXFORD HINDI WORD OF THE YEAR?

The Oxford Hindi word of the year is a word or expression that is chosen to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance.

HOW WAS THE HINDI WORD OF THE YEAR CHOSEN?

The team at Oxford Languages chose this word in consultation with three panellists who are Hindi language experts. To select the word, entries were obtained from Hindi speakers on Twitter. The panellists include Kritika Agrawal, who is an Advocate-on-Record and a graduate from the University of Oxford, Dr Poonam Nigam Sahay, who is an Associate Professor in English Language, Literature & Linguistics at Ranchi University, and Imogen Foxell, who is an Executive Editor for Oxford Languages.