INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED THROUGH EDUCATION, CHHATTISGARH

OBJECTIVES

·        To study the role of the in bringing marginalized section of society into mainstream.

·        To study the impact of the innovative educational interventions by the government in combating Naxalism.

SUMMARY

India knows the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh for reasons of its being at the forefront of an armed struggle between state security forces and groups of armed Left Wing Extremists, commonly referred to as Naxalites. This violence has claimed many lives of civilians, security forces, and political leaders, and posed very serious challenges as to how normal state and development activities are to be carried out. What once used to be a single district of Bastar today comprises of 7 districts. Over 60 per cent of the area is under forest cover (consisting of mainly of rich teak-wood), and the region boasts of very rich mineral reserves of iron ore, tin, kimberlite, and silica among others. It is predominantly a tribal inhabited region (nearly 75% of the total population) with the major tribal groups being Muriya, Mariah, Halba, Gond, Bhatra, Dhurva and Dorla. The governance of this region is done under the special provisions of the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, applicable to nine states with large tribal population, and the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA). Each tribal community has its own distinct identity and language—the main dialects are Gondi, Halbi, Bhatri and Dorli. They also have their own believes, social customs, and institutions including the Panchayat system and community heads like Baiga, Guniya, Siraha and Badde. These leaders still draw prominence and respect among the community.

The research is mainly based on the empirical and qualitative data. This study aims to access the impact caused by Educational initiatives in the weakening of Naxal movement in Chhattisgarh. The impacts are manifold- both tangible and non-tangible. For this purpose, case study method was taken as an important tool. This report is a part of the PPRC’s comprehensive study on the “Multi Sectoral Perspective of Chhattisgarh’s growth story”. The sources used for this study included both primary and secondary sources. The research team visited Rajnandgaon, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada and Narayanpur. The research team went to the interior parts of these areas and conducted a field based survey too. This included visits to gram sabhas, schools, colleges, porta cabins, education cities, district headquarters, media organizations; and interviews of Civil Governance officials, Police officers, Naxal leaders, surrendered Naxals and local tribals.