“Promote Santhali in Ol Chiki Script”: President Murmu
Droupadi Murmu inaugurates centenary celebrations, stresses mother-tongue learning
- President inaugurates centenary celebrations of Ol Chiki script
- Calls for promotion of Santhali in its native script
- Commemorative coin and stamp released
- Ten Santal achievers felicitated
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 16th Feb: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday inaugurated the centenary celebrations of the Ol Chiki script at an event organised by the Ministry of Culture in New Delhi.
Addressing the gathering, the President said the Santal community has its own rich language, literature, and cultural traditions. However, in the absence of a dedicated script earlier, Santhali was written in Roman, Devanagari, Oriya, and Bengali scripts, which could not accurately represent its original pronunciation.
She noted that Pandit Raghunath Murmu invented the Ol Chiki script in 1925, and since then it has become a strong symbol of Santal identity across the world and a means of unity within the community.
The President said the centenary celebrations should serve as an opportunity to promote the script further. She emphasised that while children may receive education in other languages, they should also learn their mother tongue, Santhali, in the Ol Chiki script.
Expressing happiness over the growth of Santhali literature, she urged writers to use their work to create awareness and inspire society. She described India as an orchard of many languages and said literature and language strengthen unity among communities. She also called for translation efforts to make Santhali literature accessible to speakers of other languages and vice versa.
On the occasion, the President released a commemorative coin and postage stamp to mark 100 years of the Ol Chiki script and felicitated ten achievers from the Santal community for promoting its widespread use.
