Salkhan demands Raj Bhasha status for Santhali

Jamshedpur: State JD(U) president Salkhan Murmu has sought Raj Bhasha status for Santhali language in Jharkhand. Murmu, in a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday, has urged him to exercises his powers under Article 347 of the Constitution and direct the state government to take necessary steps in this regard.
Pointing out that Santhali was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution 17 years ago, Murmu claimed that according Raj Bhasha status to the language will contribute to Jharkhand’s overall development. “Santhali is one of the representative languages of the tribals and the purpose behind including it in the Eighth Schedule was to give it an official status for developing its richness, besides becoming an effective tool in communication. Half the objective will remain unachieved if Raj Bhasha status is not accorded to the language, like Hindi,” said Murmu.
He alleged that out of the 22 recognised languages in the country, Santhali is the only language to be ignored. “In 1956, the State Reorganization Commission did not accept the demand for carving a separate state for tribals on the ground that it lacks a common link language to qualify for a state on the basis of language,” Murmu said, adding, “Though Jharkhand came into existence as a tribal state in 2000 but 20 years have passed since then and Santhali is still waiting for Raj Bhasha status.”
With over seven million Santhali speakers in India, particularly in the eastern states of West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Bihar, the language has the potential to grow as an effective means of communication, provided it gets support from the government, said the JD(U) leader.
He further said that with a tribal woman as the governor of Jharkhand (Droupadi Mumru) and a tribal man as the chief minister (Hemant Soren), this is the right time for honouring the most widely spoken Austroasiatic language in the world by according the Raj Bhasha status to it.