In Chhattisgarh, Insurgency-Hit Children Are Returning to ‘Disarmed’ Schools

Often, schools in war zones, with their high concrete walls and small windows, are occupied by parties in conflict.

In Bastar, out of the many adverse effects of Salwa Judum, a militia that was mobilised as part of anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, one is that the school buildings in Maoist stronghold villages were demolished by Maoists, forcing thousands of Adivasi children out of school. This happened due to the armament of schools during war. While security forces occupied the concrete school buildings and converted them into camps, in a counter operation, Maoists disrupted roads and demolished the school buildings to prevent the security forces from taking cover.

In an open letter addressed to citizens and published by the Economic and Political Weekly (Vol 42, Issue no. 01, 6 Jan 2007), the then-General Secretary of CPI (Maoism), Ganapathy, had justified demolishing school structures, stating those structures were built with the motive of unleashing torture on Adivasi villagers rather than for continuing the education of children.

When War Reaches the Classroom

The armament of schools in war zones is a universal issue. As per researchers, school buildings can provide infrastructural support to parties in armed conflict, and hence, they are easy targets for armament. Most rural government school structures have high concrete walls and small windows, ideal for parties in conflict to operate from within. Babul Gogoi, a freelance filmmaker who has been studying conflicts in the Northeast, stated that in the early 1990s during the peak of counter-terrorism operations by security forces in Manipur, most rural school buildings were occupied and were converted to army bunkers, forcing students out of school.

On 26 December 2014, eight skulls were recovered after digging the premises of the abandoned Tombisana High School situated in the heart of Imphal town. As per a report published by Firstpost, the number of schools and colleges occupied by paramilitary forces in Kashmir has doubled after the abrogation of Article 370. The report exclusively mentions the armament of two government middle schools in the Khag area of Budgam district and a high school in Sogan, forcing 350 students out of school.

Similar was the trend in Nepal during its Maoist war, where schools were armed by the parties in war. The United Nations (UN) had to step in and set protocols to keep the schools away from any instance of armed conflict.

Children in war zones are exposed to brutalities inflicted on their loved and dear ones. This induces PTSD in most of them. As per a report published by Save the Children, 71% of children in refugee camps of Syria are suffering from PTSD. Under such circumstances, disarmed schools can serve as a space amidst a war zone where children can feel safe.

Thatched Roof Hut Structures

Schools were demolished in Bastar due to the armament of its buildings by parties in war during Salwa Judum. In 2011, district administrations of ‘Bastar Sambhag’ came up with a concept of bamboo-structured residential schools, constructed near towns to continue the schooling of out-of-school children affected by violence. But they failed to cater to Adivasis living in deep, violence-ridden villages, where people were not willing to send their children to far-off schools. Hence, the problem of a whopping number of out-of-school children and the state’s threat perception of those children’s exposure to Maoism continued.

To counter this, the District Administration of Sukma, in consultation with Gram Sabhas, re-opened 93 demolished schools in 2018 and four more in 2021. These 97 schools are located in the deep Maoist zones of Konta Block in Sukma. The administration mobilised the villagers to build a thatched roof and appointed a local youth from their village as a teacher.

The demolished schools started re-operating from the thatched roof hut structure. This structure is an example of a disarmed school building that cannot be used by any party involved in the ongoing war. This initiative is a great step towards peace-building in the region and is presently benefiting 4,000 out-of-school children.

Why Schools are a Safe Space for Children

Children in the war zone of Bastar have been witnessing war brutalities for decades now, which has been taking a mental toll on them.

An NGO working in the region narrates its experience of conducting a heart-wrenching activity with the conflict-ridden children of Sukma, where 47 out of 53 children studying in Grade 4 had sketched a combat scene when asked to draw anything they wish.

To see children living in picturesque villages full of hills, forests, and Mahua trees sketching combat when asked to draw anything they wish, is appalling.

Regular patrolling, helicopter surveillance, and armed combats induce PTSD in children, and under such circumstances, a disarmed school building and education can ensure socio-emotional support to them. Some teachers also point out how Adivasis flee to hide in forests and children run to the school to hide themselves when forces come for patrolling.

A Community Initiative

The 97 reopened schools in Sukma are being operated in collaboration with villagers. Villagers have been facilitating the smooth operation of these schools in areas otherwise sparsely accessible.

Last month, while visiting a few such schools, an education official of Sukma came to know that two of the 97 re-opened schools have been re-closed as the appointed teachers were not conducting classes, taking advantage of the remote and sparsely accessible locations. The violence-stricken Adivasi villagers approached him with a written complaint and a request to replace the teachers. The villagers stated that their three generations have remained illiterate and they don’t want more children to remain uneducated They assured the official of repairing the dilapidated thatched hut school structure.

This is an exemplary example of ‘community-system’ ownership to let these schools operate and a crucial step towards peace-building in the region.

A Broad Consensus

The state also feels that there is a need to upgrade the thatched hut structures of these 97 re-opened schools in Sukma. Under the Rajiv Gandhi Siksha Misson (RGSM) plan, disarmed structures are being upgraded for smooth operation in these utterly sensitive zones. Two types of buildings have been allowed recently – one made up of polymer walls and the other a concrete half-wall structure. Both these structures cannot be used by parties in armed conflicts. These structures provide a safe space for violence-stricken children, where they can continue with their education.

Both Maoists and the state are in support of operating these disarmed schools. Amidst many differences, this is a point of intersection where a common consensus between both parties in conflict has been built. This unsaid agreement between both parties has facilitated the access of teachers, education officials, and NGOs to these highly sensitive war zones. Both parties are trying hard to ensure a safe and disarmed schooling space for their children, and the effort is commendable.

In Sukma, as the state deploys more and more CRPF camps, Maoists resort to retaliation in more violent ways and villagers democratically protest against the establishment of CRPF camps and killings, schools have become a safe space for children. In such a heated environment, the re-operation of these 97 disarmed schools – over which all three parties have a common consensus – gives hope for a political solution to this conflict.

(Prasun campaigns for disarmed school structures in war zones and is a human rights activist.)