[4][5][6] Until the nineteenth century, Santali people had no written language and knowledge was transmitted orally from one generation to other.

Later European researchers and Christian missionaries started to use Bengali, Odia, and Roman scripts to document the Santali language.

His father, Nandlal Murmu, was a village head and his paternal uncle was a Munsi in the court of King Pratap Chandra Bhanjdeo of Mayurbhanj State.

As per the traditional social rituals of the Santal people (known as the Kherwal community), he was named Chunu Murmu after his birth.

One of his students (son of a carpenter) carved out the letters he wrote on a wooden chapati rolling pin.

In the novel, he described how Bidu (god) and Chandan (Goddess) who came to earth as human beings, invented the Ol Chiki script in order to express their love for each other using written Santali.

During that period, he used to visit different Santali villages in Mayurbhanj and Jharkhand and taught the use of his developed Ol Chiki script.

[9][7][1][12] During the Swadeshi independence movement in 1942, he got branded as a revolutionary while he was campaigning for his invented Ol Chiki script.

Police firing was also sought to quell the protesters supporting the movement at Kharsawan and Gundaria in Mayurbhanj.

An arrest warrant was also issued in his name when the demand for Jharkhand was raised at the Baripada Tribal Convention.

[9][12][11] During this period, he also established a religious organization called "Sarna Dharam Semlet", which spearheaded the ancestral beliefs of the Santals and urged people to identify as adherents of the religion in official records.

He traveled all his life to spread the use of Ol Chiki script, while his mother-in-law took care of his family and home.

In this conference, prominent leader Jaipal Singh Munda bestowed him with the title Guru Gomke (the great teacher).

He was also honoured by Mayurbhanj State Adivasi Mahasabha with the title "Guru Gomke" (the great teacher).

Under his direction, the weekly magazine Saagen Saakam was printed and distributed to spread Santali literature.

He visited many Santali-dominated places in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, and Odisha and taught people about the use of Ol Chiki alphabet (Au-Ote-O-Aung) in phonetics through his songs.

By offering prayers to the god Bidu with his wife Chandan (goddess) on the confluence of two rivers Jual and Bhangra (near Jhargram), He set the norms and standards which today become a traditional ritual in that region.

On 16 November 1979, the Government of West Bengal (then headed by chief minister Jyoti Basu) honored him by giving him a bronze medal at the Kundbona ground of Hura in the Purulia district.

Professor Martin Orens, a distinguished anthropologist of the University of California USA, called him a Theologian (Spiritual Guru).

These works include Ol Chemed (primary syllabus of Ol Chiki), Parsi Poha (essential elements of Ol Chiki), Dare Ge Dhon (drama), Sido Kanhu (patriotic drama), Bidu Chandan (famous love drama), Kherwal Bir (patriotic drama), Hital (scripture of evolution of the Earth and human being of Kherwals myth), Hor Serenj' (Santali literature songs), Ronor (Santali grammar), Elkha (Santali mathematics).

After that, many state governments of India, specifically West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bihar, gave recognition to the Santali language.

The government of Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal included the Santali language as a medium of instruction at the primary and high school levels in the santal-dominated area.

Many universities and colleges of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha are now offering courses on the Santali literature using Ol Chiki script.

[4] In 2016, Odisha chief minister declared the birthday of Pandit Raghunath Murmu (every year full moon day on the month of May which is popularly called as "Guru Kunami", "Guru Purnima" and "Baishakh Kunami") as an optional holiday.