Tribal group urges state govt to display building names in Ol Chiki script

Jamshedpur: A city-based tribal outfit demanded that state govt direct the department of personnel, administrative reforms and rajbhasha to effectively enforce the 2019 orders of Jharkhand govt regarding writing the names of the govt office buildings in Santhali.
The Adivasi Suraksha Parishad (ASP) on Wednesday gave a representation to the DC Ananya Mittal in this regard. "In 2019, state govt issued a notification in which it said in the districts where the population of the Santhali speaking people is large, the names of govt buildings should be written in Ol Chiki," said ASP president Ramesh Hansda.
He said Santhali is a recognised regional language and Ol Chiki script is widely read and spoken by the tribals across Jharkhand, govt needs to enforce the direction effectively.
He said boards, sign-boards, name plates and signage should be written/printed/inscribed and embossed in Ol Chiki at all state and central govt office buildings.
"Name plates and sign boards written in the tribal script will not only help the tribal people to read and acknowledge name and designation of the officials at govt buildings easily but it would also give a sense of pride and belonging to them," he said.
Further, he said Ol Chiki is widely used for reading and writing in Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha and Assam hence the govt should not delay in taking the initiative.
Santhali is part of the Schedule VIII of the Constitution but it did not receive adequate support from govt for its promotion in administrative activities, Hansda said.
"The perseverance and promotion of Ol Chiki will get a boost if it is mandatorily used in administration work," Hansda said.