During the year 1942 when the freedom struggle was in full swing, Gandhiji felt the need for a common language which could serve as the lingua franca of the country and bring the people of the country together. Thus the idea of Hindustani was born and Gandhiji founded Hindustani Prachar Sabha [HPS] at Wardha on 5th May 1942 and soon after in Mumbai. At that time no one would have thought that this organization will keep going for so long and become 75 years young in the year 2017.

The aim of Hindustani Prachar Sabha is to promote Hindustani, a mix of simple Hindi and simple Urdu. Since its inception, Hindustani Prachar Sabha has been working relentlessly for the promotion of Hindustani and also simple Hindi and simple Urdu. HPS is fortunate that since the beginning it had the patronage of some of the very dedicated Gandhian social workers and eminent personalities such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr Zakir Hussain, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, Balasahab Kher, Shrimann Narayan Agrawal etc. The two sisters late Perinben Captain and late Goshiben Captain who were the grand daughters of the great leader Dadabhai Naoroji virtually devoted their lives for the growth of HPS.

Another distinguished personality who played an important role in the journey of HPS was late Morarjibhai Desai who remained the president of HPS till his death. During its formative years, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru arranged for a grant of Rs.5 lakhs to construct the building of the HPS on the plot allocated by the Maharashtra Government at Charni Road, Mumbai. Till date the HPS is functioning from that five storey building which is called Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Building.

Hindustani Prachar Sabha is administered by a board of Trustees consisting of Francis Mathews, Satish Shah, Feroze Patch and Arvind Degvekar and a Managing Committee.