Ol Chiki digit six

It is the Ol Chiki digit for six.

The Santali word for six is turuy. Ol Chiki is a script used to write Santali, a language spoken by Santal communities; this digit belongs to its decimal set.

Ol Chiki's origin is dated to 1925. Its creator, Raghunath Murmu, developed printing blocks and a hand press in the 1930s, then displayed the script at an exhibition in Mayurbhanj State in 1939. The script gave Santali a dedicated way to write its sounds, including abrupt consonant endings and weaker, shorter vowel sounds.

Why does the script around ᱖ matter?

The numeral stays six; Ol Chiki can signal Santal identity.

A 2017 study of Santali print in West Bengal describes Ol Chiki as part of claims for linguistic recognition and Santal unity. The digit remains six, but its script can place it within that history.

In Purulia, the study describes younger editors publishing magazines mainly in Ol Chiki, while some other editors and publications continued with Eastern Brahmi or mixed scripts. After Raghunath Murmu's 1979 visit to West Bengal, the Santali Bhasha Morcha, a movement for the Santali language, helped make script choice part of language-rights and unity campaigns.