Draft:Mission OlChiki 2025

The Ol Chiki script traces its roots back to the Santhal tribe, one of the largest indigenous communities in India, primarily inhabiting the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Assam. Historically, the Santali language was primarily oral, with no formal script to preserve its linguistic heritage. However, in the early 20th century, Pandit Raghunath Murmu, a visionary and a member of the Santhal community, recognized the need to codify the Santhali language. Thus, the Ol Chiki script was born in 1925, with Murmu creating the characters based on the shapes found in nature and everyday objects.

Mission Ol Chiki
The Santal community is all set to celebrate MISSION OLCHIKI 2025 as a grand tribute to mark the 100th year of the Invention of Ol Chiki for the Santali language.

History and Background
The Ol Chiki script holds immense cultural and historical significance for the Santhal community. It not only provides a means to preserve their language but also serves as a symbol of identity and pride. However, despite its importance, the script faced challenges such as limited recognition, lack of standardization, and a dearth of educational resources. These obstacles hindered its widespread adoption and threatened its existence.

The Ol Chiki (ᱚᱞ ᱪᱤᱠᱤ) script, also known as Ol Chemetʼ (Santhali: ol 'writing', chemetʼ 'learning').

Santali is a recognised regional language of the Indian language Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

With this aim, several NGOs such as All India Adivasi Socio-Educational And Cultural Association West Bengal, ASECA Jharkhand, All India Santali Writers' Association, KHERWAL VEER TRUST owned and operated by Santal Social Entrepreneurs are effectively working on the conservation of Santali language and Ol Chiki. The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu graced the inaugural session of the 36th Annual Conference and Literary Festival of All India Santali Writers’ Association at Baripada. To commemorate the 100th year of the invention year of Ol Script, the year 2025 has been proposed MISSION OLCHIKI 2025 to educate all native residents of Santal across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal as well as those who migrated to different countries across the world.