President Murmu sings in Santali at Ol Chiki centenary, urges people to never forget their mother tongue

Shashi SinghJamshedpur, Dec. 29 -- President Droupadi Murmu on Monday turned the centenary celebrations of the Ol Chiki script into a moment of rare cultural intimacy, beginning her address by singing a prayer in the Santali language and urging people across the country to preserve and cherish their respective mother tongues.

Addressing the 22nd Santali Parsi Maha and the centenary year celebrations of the Ol Chiki script at the Dishom Jaherthan courtyard in Karandih on the outskirts of Jamshedpur, the President said linguistic pride and social progress must go hand in hand.

She opened her speech with a Santali invocation to Jaher Aayo, the tribal mother deity, leaving the large gathering visibly moved.

"Learning many languages is import...