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Published By : Tuhina Sahoo
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NewDelhi, Feb 17: President of India, Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Centenary Celebration of the Ol Chiki script in New Delhi, an event organized by the Ministry of Culture.

In her address, the President emphasized that the Santal community, with its rich language, literature, and culture, faced challenges due to the lack of a dedicated script. Historically, the Santhali language was written in Roman, Devanagari, Oriya, and Bengali scripts, which struggled to accurately represent the phonetics of the language. Members of the Santal community in Nepal, Bhutan, and Mauritius had also adopted local scripts, but these did not adequately capture the true essence of Santhali pronunciation.

The breakthrough came in 1925 when Pandit Raghunath Murmu invented the Ol Chiki script, which has since become a powerful symbol of Santal identity worldwide. The script has played a pivotal role in fostering unity among the Santal people, said the President.

In her speech, President Murmu highlighted the importance of promoting the Ol Chiki script and urged that children, while learning mainstream languages like Hindi, English, Oriya, and Bengali, should also be taught their mother tongue, Santhali, in the Ol Chiki script.

She expressed her happiness at the growing body of Santhali literature, praising writers for their contributions and encouraging them to continue using their work to inspire and awaken the community.

“The diversity of languages in India is like an orchard,” said the President, noting that language and literature are the threads that bind communities together. She also stressed the importance of translating Santhali literature for students of other languages and vice versa, to promote cultural exchange and mutual enrichment.

As part of the centenary celebrations, President Murmu released a commemorative coin and postage stamp to mark the 100-year milestone of Ol Chiki. Additionally, she felicitated 10 individuals from the Santal community who have made significant contributions to the widespread adoption and promotion of the Ol Chiki script.