BARIPADA/BHUBANESWAR: PRESIDENT Droupadi Murmu on Monday said climate change is a huge problem and nature-friendly living is important to tackle this issue. Addressing the 36th annual conference and literary festival of All India Santhali Writers’ Association here, Murmu said writers should highlight the lifestyle of tribal communities where there is natural co-existence of humans with nature. Stating that tribals believe the forest does not belong to them but they belong to the forest, she urged writers to write on this issue.
The President said India is a beautiful garden of different languages and literatures. “Language and literature are the subtle threads that bind the nation together and literature is enriched by extensive exchange between different languages which is possible through translations.” Murmu said readers of Santhali should also be introduced to the literature of other languages through translation. There is a need for similar efforts to make Santhali literature reachable to readers of other languages.
Stating that most of the Santhali literature was available in oral tradition, she said Pandit Raghunath Murmu has not only invented the Ol Chiki script but also enriched the Santhali language by composing plays like ‘Bidu Chandan’, ‘Kherwal Bir’, ‘Darege Dhan’, ‘Sido- Kanhu - Santhal Hool’. “It is a matter of pride that Damayanti Besra and Kali Pada Saren - popularly known as Kherwal Saren - have been honoured with Padma Shri in 2020 and 2022 respectively for education and literature,” she stated.
Murmu further said use of Santhali language has increased in government and non-government sectors after its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. She remembered former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during whose tenure Santhali language was included in the Eighth Schedule.
On the day, the President inaugurated an Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) at Kuliana. She said during her childhood, there was no school near her home and she had to go away from home to study. Many children were deprived of education at that time due to non-availability of a school nearby. But this is not the case today. She expressed confidence that with the opening of the EMRS, local children will now have more opportunity for education.
Governor Raghubar Das said the government has launched various schemes to educate tribal children. Union Minister Arjun Munda said the Centre has provided adequate funds for development of tribals to sustain their livelihood. Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bishweswar Tudu and Law Minister Jagannath Saraka attended the event.