1) Vijaygiri

- 70 km from Ranchi – on Ranchi Tata Highway - hidden behind the hills, three kms interior in the hilly terrain. Malaria infested area no communication facilities.
-  Left out completely from all developmental tasks, till some ten-twelve years ago.
- Vijaygiri is the outlet for all hill people where nobody reaches.

School was started by the missionaries 22 years ago – From Primary, now the classes have reached till class X. Several  batches have appeared for the Board Exams – good results. To make education reach the interior villages Hostel facilities have been provided from the beginning even for tiny tots; therefore school was functioning very well.

Wild elephants, wild bears, hyenas and wolves are regular night visitors of the school compound but no casualties so far. In fact the people have learnt to live amicably with wild life.

In 2005 all Kacha houses have been replaced by packka  buildings. A huge drinking water well, A simple but big hall; play grounds which the children have prepared by themselves having levelled the hill slope etc. also arable  land for cultivation so that poor children can be fed when they cannot bring rice and pulses from home.

Hostellers - boys 110, girls 85

School – Primary 670, High School 310

CRPF Jawans came into to school in May 2009. Close to 150 of them. They came unannounced, and occupied the Hall and the campus, began to use all the school facilities for themselves.

Gradually class rooms also were occupied telling the school authorities- security is more important than schooling. They, seemingly, were expected to move out from the area within two months.

District authorities still insist that CRPF and the police force will not disturb any functioning of the school, nor the day to day life of the people . In fact CRPF has its own tents for their shelter . They are no t expected to live under roofs  much less in schools.

But the CRPF occupied the campus and being in such a big number, their mobility itself has affected the functioning of the school very adversely. Children’s classes were held under the trees when it was possible. Some hostellers were too scared to stay with men with guns so escaped to their homes.

In rainy season last year many classes had to be dropped – authorities don’t  seem to understand at all why classes are not held.

Every now and then the jawans, most probably come back from their combing duties, they strip themselves stark naked and go to the well in the open to take bath. Think of the children, teenagers boys and girls, looking at such behaviour – can you think they would be able to study?

Hall, kitchen, dormitories, latrines – every where you have only CRPF Jawans. Dayscholars are the worst hit. In the school campus, there is no problem, but the moment they are out of the campus – the Jawans stop them, bombard them with questions, on a slight suspicion they are caught, dragged to the camp for questioning. Beating seems to be the 1st introduction, slapping kicking on the chin, striking on the ribs with the butt of the gun, if the hair is long , catching the person by the hair and shaking him up till the person  writhes in pain. These are all parts of introduction. Only, after this questioning begins. During the 1st week itself many of the High School boys had to go through that ordeal, so they either ran away from the area to some safer place or stopped coming to the school all together.

Village children, particularly the age group between ten and fifteen do lot of manual works at home or in  the school. In summer biggest source of income for the forest dwellers is Mahua.  The Mahua flower drops from the bunch night and day, so early morning, at noon and around four O’clock people must rush to collect them, or else the animals would eat them up. School children prove a real helping hand in this regard, particularly in the morning before they go to school. The season lasts almost a month and a half. If a good collection is made, dried in the sun and sold, it might fetch several thousand of rupees, to meet the primary needs of the family. Last year and this year too this work has suffered very badly, so the families are unable to provide their children with school stationery, clothing, books etc.

In Rainy season almost all the children above the age of eight – nine help their parents in the fields because all without exception are farmers, but with the CRPF Jawans  around terrorising all, accusing them of being the supporters of MCC or Maoists, they could not do much work. Even the parents were constantly threatened, accused, punished etc Hence cultivation has suffered, is suffering this year.

Weekly markets are the places where people fend for their weekly household needs. Those who had vegetables more than they can eat they convert them into cash by selling them in those same weekly markets. But with the CRPF Jawans around, anybody carrying either food grain or vegetable to or from the market, becomes a suspect that he/ she is carrying everything to the ultras hidden in the forest. This probably is the worst treatment people had never expected. The humiliating experience the parents, the adults, the senior members of society have been subjected to, is too much. And the CRPF seems to take pride over breaking the backbone of the people.

Even if we want to confine our reports to children’s education, one can see how every thing is affecting the children’s growth, educational and otherwise.

---------- Meeting of 5 boys from the area on the streets of Ranchi – 8th and 9th class boys.

-----------Girls in one of the churches – “why don’t you take us to Delhi”.

My visits were planned to four schools only, even they did not materialise, but the Heads came to Ranchi to inform us about the happenings, talking to the Headmasters and Head mistresses, I gathered that almost all the schools of Bundu + Tamar+ Adki and southern side of Khunti are closed in all 35 to 40 schools.

One of the teachers read out to me the list of twenty nine schools which he knew were closed or non- functioning because of CRPF and/ or police occupying the building. From him I could collect that some of the schools have been under CRPF or JAP occupation from 2001, now for ten years, like Primary School. Beltu in Hazaribagh district, Middle school Jamdaar , Middle school Tarai, and Middle school Bismi Tikar, all the three in Giridih district from 2002, Peertanr Middle School Harladih in Giridih from 2006, are occupied by JAP and CRPF. In all 13 schools in Giridih 12 schools in Ranchi, 8 Schools in West Singhbhum, 4 schools in Khunti district, 5 schools in Chatra, Hazaribagh and Bokaro districts have stopped functioning totally or are running only for name sake.

Estimatedly ten thousand children are being deprived of their education, the midday meal, girls, their iron tablets etc. Not only deprivation, but anti government, anti military spirit is seeping fast and you can feel immediately how all those youngsters are negatively being inspired to avenge the government  and the military, whatever kind it is, JAP or CRPF or any other company or battalion, their presence in the area has created so much of nuisance.

Educationally these are the areas which were left out for decades due to lack of connectivity and health hazards particularly malaria. Even the missionaries who in a sense make a preferential option for the most difficult places first, reached there only 22-23 years ago.

More than anything else the school authorities in Vijaygiri, probably the biggest and the best school of the area with their school as well as Hostels and Halls etc just constructed four years ago, are afraid that after the CRPF moves out from there the Maoists are sure to blow off all the buildings,  as a penalty for sheltering or for being used as a shelter for the paramilitary forces. This is what they have done systematically in Chatra, Hazaribagh, Latehar and Garhwa districts. Not only Vijaygiri but almost all the school heads are fear stricken already now for what is going to happen after these forces vacate the place and have the area to be the ravaging ground of the ultras.

2)  Middle school Sarjomdih –
This is the village where the CID inspector Mr. Indwar was abducted from and after five days was brutally murdered by chopping off his head by a sharp instrument.

School is bigger than the primary school  around. CRPF has entered the class rooms in 2008 immediately after that tragic incidence. A posse of 75-80 men in uniform are practically the permanent occupants of the building. School is closed. Close to 400 children all tribals are affected.
The place itself is very close to the National High way, and the terrorization of people is not as bad as in Tamar area, in the interior villages.

The lawyer who informed me about the school was so critical of the situation created, that he was convinced all the boys and girls of the school were going to join the MCCs sooner or later only to ventilate their anger to the govt. and police.

3)  Middle School Maranghada – under CRPF occupation from 2008 (almost hundred of them)
Everything as in Vijaygiri – except the terrorization of people slightly less.
The list of Schools as received from the teacher who insisted on his anonymity.