Kolkata, 22 December (H.S.): On the occasion of Santali Language Day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, extending her greetings and best wishes to all her Santali brothers and sisters. She also paid tribute to the language-loving activists who fought for a long time for the Santali language.
The Chief Minister said that it is a matter of pride that the Santali language received official language status during her government's tenure. Additionally, Santali has been included as an optional subject in the WBCS examination. Textbooks in the Ol Chiki script and a trilingual dictionary in Santali have been published. New schools have also been opened for education in the Santali language.
In her post, Mamata Banerjee also stated that along with Santali, Kurukh, Kurmali, Nepali, Hindi, Urdu, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, Odia, Punjabi, and Telugu languages have also been given official recognition in the state. Furthermore, the government is also working towards the development of the Sadri language.
The Chief Minister claimed that in the past 14 and a half years, several significant steps have been taken for the development of all tribal communities, including the Santali community. A separate department has been constituted for tribal development, and its budget has been increased by more than seven times compared to 2011.
She informed that special measures have been taken to prevent the transfer of land belonging to tribal communities in the state. Under the 'Jai Johar' scheme, approximately three lakh tribal people are receiving a pension of one thousand rupees per month. In addition, nearly 19.5 lakh Scheduled Tribe certificates have been issued.
Under the 'Shikshashree' scheme, approximately two lakh Scheduled Tribe students from classes five to eight have been provided with a scholarship of 800 rupees. Under the Forest Rights Act, about 49,000 tribal people have been given individual forest land titles and 851 community forest land titles. The Chief Minister said that a special social security scheme has been launched for approximately 36,000 poor tribal Kendu leaf collectors, and the minimum support price for Kendu leaves has also been increased. Additionally, more than 700 Jaher Thans and over 1,500 Majhi Thans have been developed and fenced.
Mamata Banerjee announced that November 15, the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, has been declared a government holiday. A state holiday has been declared on the birth anniversary of Pandit Raghunath Murmu, a sectional holiday on Hul Day, and a state holiday instead of a sectional holiday on the auspicious occasion of Karam Puja.
Furthermore, eight development boards have been constituted for the tribal communities, and a Santhali Academy has been established. A bill to recognize the Sarna/Sari religion has been passed in the state assembly and a letter has been sent to the central government.
The Chief Minister concluded her message by saying that her government will continue to work for the development of the tribal brothers and sisters in the coming days as well.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
