Santal identity strengthened through 100 years of Ol Chik: Droupadi Murmu
President of India Droupadi Murmu releases a commemorative publication during the centenary celebrations of the Ol Chiki script, organised by the Ministry of Culture, in New Delhi on Monday. Also seen are Jual Oram, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Vivek Aggarwal.
NEW DELHI: Santal identity strengthened through 100 years of Ol Chiki, says Droupadi Murmu
President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Centenary Celebration of the Ol Chiki script, organised by the Ministry of Culture in the national capital.
Addressing the gathering, Droupadi Murmu said the Santal community has its own language, literature and culture, but in the absence of an exclusive script, the Santhali language was earlier written in Roman, Devanagari, Oriya and Bengali scripts. Members of the community living in Nepal, Bhutan and Mauritius also adopted scripts prevalent in those countries. These scripts, she noted, could not accurately represent the original sounds of Santhali.
She highlighted that in 1925, Raghunath Murmu invented the Ol Chiki script, which has since been used to write Santhali. Over the past century, the script has emerged as a powerful symbol of Santal identity worldwide and an instrument of unity within the community.
Droupadi Murmu called upon the community to use the centenary year as an opportunity to further promote the script. She said that while children may receive education in Hindi, English, Oriya, Bengali or other languages, they should also learn their mother tongue, Santhali, in the Ol Chiki script.
Expressing satisfaction over the growth of Santhali literature, Droupadi Murmu noted that many writers are contributing significantly to its enrichment and urged them to use their writings to create greater social awareness.
Describing India as an orchard of many languages, she said language and literature act as threads that sustain unity among communities. She stressed the need for translation and literary exchange to make Santhali literature accessible to students of other languages and to similarly introduce literature from other languages to Santhali readers.
On the occasion, the President released a commemorative coin and postage stamp marking 100 years of Ol Chiki and felicitated 10 achievers from the Santal community for promoting the wider use of the script among Santhali speakers.
