Jamshedpur, December 29: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday stressed the need to make Santhali literature accessible to students of other languages saying that "language and literature bind communities together.”

The President was gracing the closing ceremony of the 22nd Parsi Maha and the centenary celebrations of Ol Chiki at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.

“Language and literature bind communities together. Literary exchanges between different languages enrich those languages and communities. Translations make this exchange possible. Therefore, there is a need to introduce students of the Santhali language to other languages. Similar efforts should be made to make Santhali literature accessible to students of other languages,” said Murmu.

She expressed confidence that the All India Santhali Writers' Association will carry out this task effectively.

“Santhali literature gains strength through oral traditions and songs of the Santhal community. Many writers are enriching Santhali literature through their works. Awakening the people of tribal communities is an important task. I urge writers to do that through their writings,” said Mumru.

The President said that the Santhals have their own language, literature, and culture.

“However, a century ago, due to the lack of a script for Santhali language, various scripts such as Roman, Devanagari, Odia, and Bengali were used. In these scripts, many Santhali words could not be pronounced correctly. In 1925, Pandit Raghunath Murmu created the Ol Chiki script. Since then, this script has become a powerful symbol of the Santhal identity,” said Murmu.

“I got an opportunity to release the Constitution of India in Santhali language, written in the Ol Chiki script, on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on December 25. Now, Santhali-speaking people will be able to read and understand the Constitution written in their mother tongue and Ol Chiki script,” said Murmu.