By: Ashwani Mahajan

The Alliance of Indian Americans of Naperville Area (AIANA) marked Hindi Diwas 2026 with a Hindi Speech Competition featuring 38 children and teenagers, ages 4 to 18.

Participants delivered two-minute speeches, monologues and skits on topics ranging from friendship, kindness and nature to artificial intelligence, digital citizenship, Indian values, community service, voting and the future of Indian languages.

The event gave children growing up in a multicultural environment an opportunity to speak Hindi publicly while expressing their ideas and connecting with their cultural heritage.

“Seeing our children confidently come forward and speak in Hindi was truly heartwarming,” said Shivam Viswanathan, founder and vice president of AIANA. “Events like Hindi Diwas give them an opportunity to celebrate their roots, build confidence, and carry our language and heritage forward to the next generation.”

Madhu Uppal, founder and president of AIANA, said the celebration strengthens the connection between generations through language and heritage.

The competition was judged by Archana Agrawal, Promila Kumar, Rakesh Malhotra and Anuraag Misraraj. Avni Sharma served as emcee for the first time.

AIANA also recognized board members and volunteers, including Mohini Sullivan, Nidhi Trivedi Mishra, Sakshi Sharma, Nidhi Grover, Uma Agarwal, Gitesh Shah and Dham Bahl, for helping organize the program.

The celebration highlighted the continued efforts of Indian American families to keep Hindi relevant among younger generations by giving children opportunities to learn, speak and engage with the language.