President Murmu Inaugurates Ol Chiki Centenary Celebrations

New Delhi, Feb 16: Droupadi Murmu on Monday inaugurated the centenary celebrations of the Ol Chiki script at a special function organised by the Ministry of Culture in New Delhi, marking 100 years of the script that gave written identity to the Santhali language.

Addressing the gathering, the President highlighted the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the Santal community. She noted that before the invention of Ol Chiki, Santhali was written in Roman, Devanagari, Odia and Bengali scripts, as well as in scripts used in Nepal, Bhutan and Mauritius where members of the community reside. However, these scripts could not accurately represent the phonetics of the Santhali language.

She recalled that in 1925, Pandit Raghunath Murmu developed the Ol Chiki script, enabling the Santhali language to be written in its own distinct form. Since then, the script has become a powerful symbol of Santal identity and unity across the world.

Emphasising the importance of mother tongue education, President Murmu said that while children may study in Hindi, English, Odia, Bengali or other languages, they should also learn Santhali in the Ol Chiki script. She described India as an “orchard of many languages” and underscored the role of language and literature in strengthening social harmony.

The President expressed satisfaction over the growing body of Santhali literature and encouraged writers to use their works to inspire and awaken society. She also called for greater translation efforts to make Santhali literature accessible to speakers of other languages and to promote literary exchange.

On the occasion, President Murmu released a commemorative coin and postage stamp to mark 100 years of the Ol Chiki script. She also felicitated ten achievers from the Santal community for their contribution to promoting the widespread use of the script among Santhali speakers.