Physically-challenged youth develops Hindi Web browser

The lack of computer applications in India’s national language, Hindi, inspired Jagdeep Dangi to develop a Web browser in Hindi. What’s more significant is that Dangi is physically challenged and comes from a small town called Ganj Basoda in Madhya Pradesh. His browser is built around the Internet Explorer browsing engine with additional functionality such as pop-up blocking and a built-in Hindi dictionary. One of the most important functions in Dangi’s browser is the ‘word translator’. Click on any word in a Web page and the browser will translate the same to Hindi along with the correct pronunciation. Another application bundled in with the browser is the English-to-Hindi digital dictionary that enables translation from English to Hindi and vice-versa.

The irony is that while government organisations and other institutions have spent crores on developing local language applications, none of the organisations involved have responded to Dangi’s efforts. Says he, “It is my dream that the software should be utilised to its fullest extent and could make a big impact in villages.” Dangi’s next vision is to develop the Web browser in as many regional languages as possible. He is also planning to develop an operating system in Hindi. Now that could get a lot of people interested.