President Droupadi Murmu Releases Constitution of India in Santhali (Ol Chiki Script) at Rashtrapati Bhavan
This marks a historic milestone of linguistic inclusion and tribal empowerment as the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu published the first official translation of the Constitution of India in the Santhali language, in the Ol Chiki script. It is a landmark in the life of the Santhali-speaking people and signifies that the government cares about ensuring that the supreme law of the land is made available to every citizen in his/her own language.
The incident was planned on the Good Governance Day, observing the 125th anniversary of the birth of the previous Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This date was determined symbolically because it is under the government of Vajpayee that in 2003 the Santhali was incorporated in the Indian Constitution, in the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, in the 8th Schedule.
A Centenary Milestone for Ol Chiki
The release is also endowed with some historical significance because 2025 is the centenary of the Ol Chiki script. The script was produced in 1925 by the thinker scholar Pandit Raghunath Murmu and was constructed to represent the special phonetic makeup of the Santhali tongue.
At the meeting, President Murmu spoke with immense pride and happiness and said that not only is the gathering something to be proud of, but it is also a commemoration of the cultural legacy of the Santhali people. Her commendation of the Ministry of Law and Justice was that they had worked hard to make the document come to fruition in this historic year.
Empowering the “Last Person in the Line”
President Murmu stressed that the main aim of the given initiative is to eliminate the divide between tribal societies and the law of the country. Having the Constitution in Ol Chiki, the government strives to enable millions of speakers of the Santhali language, who mostly live in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Bihar, to be able to read it and directly comprehend their basic rights and responsibilities.
“Language is the vehicle of constitutional consciousness,”
the President remarked.
“When a citizen reads the Preamble in their own tongue, the spirit of democracy truly reaches the grassroots.”
Strengthening National Unity
Some of the high-ranking dignitaries present in the ceremony included the Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal. The President was praised by the Vice-President, who remarked that such actions enhance the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat by preserving the identities of native people and making the country become united.
Scholars feel that this action will go a long way in enhancing legal literacy among tribal students and academicians. Santhali is among the oldest living languages in India, and the fact that it has been formally recognized in its most significant legal document of the country is regarded as a significant achievement in the maintenance of cultural values.
Looking Ahead
The issue of the release of the Santhali version is part of a wider pattern of translating the Constitution into other regional languages to make it more accessible. This move is likely to open up the way for the development of further educational and legal materials in tribal scripts throughout India as the country commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Ol Chiki script.
Instead, it is assumed that the published copies of the Santhali Constitution will reach as many people and areas as possible, as the document will be distributed to libraries, community centers, and educational institutions throughout the tribal-dominated areas.
