Ol Chiki script of Santhali language was used for saluting the immortal tribal revolutionaries on Hul Diwas

About Ol Chiki script

• Also known as Ol Cemet’, Ol Ciki, 0l or the Santhali alphabet and sometimes as the Santali alphabet, is the official writing system for Santhali, an Austroasiatic language recognized as an official regional language in India.
• It has 30 letters, the forms of which are intended to evoke natural shapes. The script is written from left to right.

History

• It was created in 1925 by Raghunath Murmu (1905-1982), writer and teacher from what is Mayurbhanj State (now part of Odisha) in India as a way to write Santhali a Munda language.
• The script was first publicized in 1939 at the Mayurbhanj State exhibition.
• Murmu published over 150 books in Santhali in the Ol Chiki script, including novels, poetry, drama, grammars, dictionaries and other information about the language and script.

Features

• It is used for writing Santali which belongs to the Munda group languages of the Austro-Asiatric family.
• One of the interesting feature of the Ol Chiki script is that it makes use of signs and symbols long familiar to the Santals.
• Letters of Ol Chiki script are also derived from the physical environment and what surrounds the people – hills, rivers, trees, birds, bees, plough, sickle – the list is endless.

NOTE-

• India’s Constitution has been translated into Ol Chiki script for the first time.
• The Constitution of lndia has special provisions for the development of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
• The translation has been useful in providing a deeper understanding of laws, powers and the community’s fundamental rights for readers like Hembram. (Hembram is a surname which is commonly used among the Santhal tribals).