12-05-2025
CM announces Rs 50 crore package to honour Raghunath Murmu
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Bhubaneswar: CM
Mohan Charan Majhi
on Monday announced a Rs 50 crore package for various initiatives commemorating
Pandit Raghunath Murmu
, the inventor of the
Ol Chiki script
used by the
Santhal community
.The announcement came during the centenary celebration of the Ol Chiki script and the 120th birth anniversary of Pandit Murmu at Mahuldiha near Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj district.
"Pandit Murmu's legacy represents not just an individual but a movement that shaped tribal identity and culture," Majhi said while announcing the comprehensive package. The initiatives include converting Murmu's residence in Dandbose village into a pilgrimage site and developing his memorial as a heritage govt will also establish an Ol Chiki library in Baripada and construct an open theatre-museum dedicated to Pandit Murmu. Also, the CM announced year-long celebrations across the state to mark the Ol Chiki script's centenary, invented in 1925, and plans for an international seminar to promote Santali language."Our govt has integrated Pandit Murmu's name into the state's education and cultural policies. Through the implementation of Santali in primary education, textbook preparation, and teacher training, we are advancing his vision," Majhi dignitaries present included culture minister Suryabanshi Suraj and several MPs and MLAs from the region. Political observers view these initiatives as the govt's strategic outreach to the state's significant tribal population, particularly the Santhal community, which has emerged as a crucial voting bloc in recent years. President Droupadi Murmu, who hails from the Santhal community, belongs to the same its manifesto in the run-up to the 2024 Odisha assembly elections, BJP promised to introduce a library on wheels to make libraries accessible to tribal students. It also promised to create 26 language laboratories in universities, keeping tribal languages in Majhi-led govt launched a new scheme, the Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Scheme, to reduce the dropout rate among ST students. Under the scheme, tribal students enrolled in Class IX to XI get a one-time incentive of Rs 5,000.
