Argus News - President Droupadi Murmu Inaugurates Centenary Celebrations of Ol Chiki Script

New Delhi, Feb 16: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday inaugurated the Centenary Celebration of the Ol Chiki script, organised by the Ministry of Culture in New Delhi, officials said.

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Centenary Celebration of the Ol Chiki script, organised by the Ministry of Culture, in New Delhi. The President said that Ol Chiki script created by Pandit Raghunath Murmu is a powerful symbol of Santal identity worldwide. It is also an… pic.twitter.com/S6RKTb5nDI

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Speaking on the occasion, the President noted that the Santal community has its own language, literature, and culture. However, in the absence of a dedicated script, the Santhali language was initially written in Roman, Devanagari, Odia, and Bengali scripts. Members of the Santal community living in Nepal, Bhutan, and Mauritius also used the scripts prevalent in those countries. These scripts, however, could not accurately capture the original sounds of the Santhali language.

In 1925, Pandit Raghunath Murmu invented the Ol Chiki script, which has since been used for Santhali. Today, it stands as a powerful symbol of Santal identity worldwide and serves as an effective means of unity among the community.

The President emphasized that the centenary celebrations of Ol Chiki should inspire renewed commitment to promoting the script. While children may receive education in Hindi, English, Odia, Bengali, or other languages, she stressed the importance of learning their mother tongue, Santhali, in the Ol Chiki script.

President Murmu also expressed happiness that many writers are enriching Santhali literature through their works and encouraged them to awaken society through their writings.

The President described India as an orchard of many languages, where language and literature act as threads of unity. She added that literary exchange can enrich languages, and efforts should be made to make Santhali literature accessible to students of other languages through translation and writing, and vice versa.

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On the occasion, the President released a commemorative coin and postage stamp marking 100 years of Ol Chiki. She also felicitated 10 achievers from the Santal community for their contributions in promoting the widespread use of the script among Santhali people.