'Hindi Prachar Sabha’ was a movement that emerged as part of Freedom Movement and the leaders who led the nation to ‘FREE INDIA’ felt the necessity of making a single Indian Language the National Language,and through that language unify the people and thereby intensify National Integration.
The Hindi movement in south India was started in the year 1918 by Mahatma Gandhi. The movement was inagurated by Dr.Besant under the presidentship at Gokhale Hall,Madras. The first Hindi class was started by Sri Devedasa Gandhi. Hindi Training Schools were started in Andhra and Tamilnad in which young men numbering multiplied 80 were trained in the year 1919 and 190. this number multiplied itself slowly and steadily, and to-day the movement can claim more than 7000 workers working in 6000 centres, covering the entire area of the four linguistic regions, viz. Tamilnad, Andhra, Keral and Karnatak, with an area of six and a half lakhs of sq. Kilometers with a population of about 120 millions.
Organisation:South India has been divided into four linguistic provinces for the purpose of intensification or organisation of Hindi Prachar. From Berhampur in the East to Belgaum in the west, from Aurangabad in the North to cape Comoprin in the South is the area under the supervision of the Sabha.
The whole work to-day is organised,managed and expanded under the direction, supervision and control of the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha founded by Mahatma Gandhi, with its four linguistic branches having their haedquarters at Hyderabad (Andhra), Thiruchirapalli (Tamilnadu) ernakulam (Keral) and Dharwar (Karnatak).The Sabha has also a branch at Delhi.
1927 saw the emergence of Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha as an independent organization and Mahatma Gandhi was its President till he breathed his fast.
Gandhiji desired that the ‘Hindi Prachar‘ in the south should be carried on by involving the local people of the respective area. Till 1920, this Sabha had its office at George Town in Madras and offer some years shifted to Mylapore and from thereafter to Triplicane where it functioned till 1936.
Provisional Branches were established in 1936 to intensify the movement and the same year saw the sabha moving into the New town, Thyagaraya Nagar, in Madras on a sprawling 5 acre land. The foundation for the building was laid by Janab Abdul Hameed Khan and the building was declared open on 7th October, 1936 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who was the President of Indian National Congress.
Preliminary Examinations were being held regularly from 1922. The first degree level examination ‘Rashtrabasha Visharad’ was conducted and convocation held which was addressed by Kaka kalelkar in 1931. The Sabha celebrated its Silver jubilee in the year 1946 after the second world war and Gandhiji presided over the celebrations.
To commemorate his presence during the silver Jubilee celebrations in the sabha and mark that historic occasion it was decided to build a Gandhi Mantap at the spot where Mahatmaji made his presence felt. Accordingly, a Mantap was built and it was inaugurated on June 1963 by Sri Morarji Desaji.
A landmark in the recent history of the Sabha was the establishment of the National Hindi research Library built at a cost of rupees eighty five lakhs with financial assistance from the Government of India. Another important landmark is the building of ‘Mahatma Gandhi Convocation Hall’ (Mahatma Gandhi padavidan Mantap) exclusively for the use of holding the annual convocation and other functions of the sabha.
In 1993 the president of the Sabha and then Prime Minister of India Hon. Sri P.V. Narasimha Rao inaugurated the Amritotsav “Platinum Jubilee” celebrations at his residence on March 1993 at New delhi.