100 Years of Ol Chiki Script
Context: The centenary (1925–2025) of the Ol Chiki script is being inaugurated on 16 February 2026 by the Ministry of Culture in New Delhi.
About 100 Years of Ol Chiki Script:
What is Ol Chiki?
- Ol Chiki is the official writing system of the Santhali language, a major tribal language of India.
- It is a scientifically designed script created to represent Santhali sounds accurately.
- Unlike borrowed scripts (Roman, Bengali, Odia, Devanagari), Ol Chiki was built specifically for Santhali phonetics.
Origin:
- Developed in 1925 by Pandit Raghunath Murmu.
- Created to give Santhali speakers a distinct written identity.
- First major literary work: High Serena (1936).
- Murmu is revered as Guru Gomke (Great Teacher) among Santhals.
Region and Linguistic Family:
- Language: Santhali
- Language family: Austroasiatic (Munda branch)
- States where widely spoken: Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, and Bihar
Key Characteristics of Ol Chiki:
- 30 letters – Represents vowels and consonants clearly.
- One symbol = one sound – Direct phonetic mapping.
- Captures glottal stops – Unique tribal phonetic elements preserved.
- No conjunct letters – Simpler structural design.
- Indigenous design philosophy – Not adapted from Brahmi or Roman roots.
Constitutional Milestone:
- Santhali was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in 2003 via the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act.
- In December 2025, the Constitution of India was translated into Santhali using Ol Chiki, expanding democratic access.