Mamata greets Santhali community, highlights linguistic & welfare push

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday extended warm greetings to the Santhali community on the occasion of Santali Language Day, reaffirming her government’s commitment to linguistic diversity and tribal welfare in West Bengal. In a detailed message beginning with the traditional greeting “Joy Johar,” the Chief Minister paid tribute to language activists whose long struggle led to Santhali receiving official recognition.

Banerjee highlighted that Santhali has been recognised as an official language during the tenure of her government and included as an optional subject in the WBCS examination. She noted that textbooks in the Ol Chiki script, trilingual Santhali dictionaries, and new schools for Santhali-medium education have been introduced. Emphasising inclusivity, she said several other languages—Kurukh, Kurmali, Nepali, Hindi, Urdu, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, Odia, Punjabi and Telugu—have also been granted official status, while efforts continue for the development of Sadri.

The Chief Minister underlined major initiatives taken over the last 14.5 years for tribal welfare, including the creation of a separate Tribal Development Department with a seven-fold increase in budget.

Around three lakh tribal beneficiaries receive a monthly pension under the ‘Jai Johar’ scheme, while nearly 19.5 lakh ST certificates have been issued. She also cited scholarships, forest rights pattas, social security for kendu leaf collectors, and development of cultural sites. Banerjee reiterated that her

government would continue working for the dignity, development and cultural recognition of all Adivasi communities in the state.