President Murmu Highlights Lack of Recognition for Santal Freedom Fighters

President Droupadi Murmu highlighted that the contributions of the Santal community to India's freedom struggle have not received adequate recognition, noting that several Santal legends were deliberately excluded from historical accounts. Speaking at the ninth International Santal Conference in Siliguri, West Bengal, she emphasized the importance of education for Santal children and encouraged learning languages alongside the Ol Chiki script, invented by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925. She also questioned whether award recipients are sufficiently upholding the prestige of honors like the Sahitya Akademi Award and Padma Shri.