Prithibi Majhi. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Dec. 13: He has been associated with several firsts in the Assam political arena. Assembly Speaker Prithibi Majhi, 53, is now set to score a first in a completely different field ? as the author of the first-of-its-kind dictionary in the Santali script.

A. Campbell?s Santali-English Dictionary, circa 1899, preceded Majhi?s compilation by over a century, while P.O. Bodding?s A Santal Dictionary was published by the University of Oslo between 1925 and 1942. But unlike the Speaker?s work, both of these were written in the Roman script.

Majhi?s dictionary, being printed in Calcutta, will hit the stands in February. The project has been funded by Majhi himself and ?some of my well-wishers?.

The three-time Congress MLA, who has a law degree, said his dictionary in the Santali script would benefit not only the Santals of Assam ? they are one of the 97 tribes that comprise the tea labour community ? but also people in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Bangladesh and Nepal.

?What separates my work from those of pioneers like Campbell and Bodding is that it is in the Santal script. Moreover, most feel the previous dictionaries have outlived their utility. My work is an effort to carry forward and complement the works of the two scholars,? Majhi said.

The Santal language was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in 2003.

Majhi, who also writes poems in Santali and Assamese, started working on the dictionary in 1994.

He admittedly felt a compelling urge to complete it this year after seeing the language gradually head towards oblivion. ?The Santals are forgetting their language. Even my four children know very little of the language. Those from Upper Assam have all but forgotten it, but Lower Assam is better in comparison. I hope the dictionary will renew interest in the language,? he said.

On whether the language had evolved over the years, Majhi said Santali had been ?affected more or less by all the languages with which it has come into contact, like Bihari and Bengali?.

Majhi?s political career is dotted with several firsts. In 1984, the sitting MLA from Lahowal constituency became the first representative of the tea community to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He is also the first to be made deputy Speaker (in 1993) and Speaker (2001). However, it is the publication of his Santali dictionary that the multi-faceted politician is most excited about.

?I hope my work lives up to expectations and helps those who read, research and interact in the Santali language, of which very little is known in our country despite being rich in content and spoken by over 1.3 crore people. Scholars from Japan and several more foreign universities are doing research on the Santali language and culture. There is a huge demand for contemporary works in Santali,? Majhi said.