Punjab: How a School Protest Turned Against RSS in This Hindu Majority Town

(Ground reports such as these require resources and time, and often come at personal risk to the reporters. Help us do more such reports by becoming a member.)Talwara, a town where Hindus form 90 percent of the population in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, has become the centre of a protest against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). And the reason for this is the BBMB DAV Public School, where generations of local residents have studied. A proposal to privatise the BBMB DAV School has sparked outrage across Talwara, with many locals calling it a pretext for giving the school away to RSS-linked bodies.On 26 December, Chandigarh Police detained Sunny Mehta, a leader of the Joint Action Committee of BBMB DAV Bachao Morcha, before his planned march with other protesters to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) headquarters in Chandigarh. Sunny’s detention on the Punjab University campus triggered protests at the university, forcing the police to release him and arrange a meeting with BBMB officials.Sunny, along with the residents of Talwara, Hoshiarpur, had travelled nearly 200 km from their town to protest against the proposed privatisation of the school in front of the BBMB headquarters.Before we get into the protest in more detail, it's important to discuss the background. BBMB DAV School’s history is linked to the Beas River and the Pong Dam. In 1961, the BBMB started building the Pong Dam on the Beas River. Later, to provide housing for BBMB employees and locals, a modern Talwara township was planned. The entire town is divided into four different sectors, with large roads, green parks, vast playgrounds, a staff club, and other facilities for BBMB employees and locals.In 1985, BBMB founded a school, with the Arya Samaj-linked DAV College management running the school for the children of BBMB employees. Later, BBMB DAV School began serving the residents of Talwara and the Kandi region of Punjab. Since its inception, the school has been managed by DAV management, and its quality education, affordable fee structure, and vast campus have benefited the residents of Talwara township.BBMB DAV School serves nearly 1,200 students, which is beneficial for the Talwara town, which has a population of nearly 20,000, as well as for people from neighbouring villages.The BBMB had recently invited Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from reputed private/charitable educational organisations to run the BBMB DAV School in Talwara. As per the notification inviting EOIs, BBMB wants an organisation to run the school on a self-financing basis. Talwara residents, the school's students, their parents, and teachers see the EOIs as an attempt by BBMB to privatise the school.The issue has been further complicated by two factors. First, the BBMB falls under the Central government, and not the state government. As a result, many locals accuse it of acting at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Centre's behest, ignoring their concerns. The BBMB, on the other hand, accuses the local administration and police of siding with the protesters. Second, just a stone’s throw away from BBMB DAV School, there is another school named Sanatana Dharma Sarvhitkari Vidya Mandir, which is affiliated with an RSS-linked organisation.More on these two aspects later. After taking out a march in Talwara town, residents started a permanent protest outside BBMB DAV School in Talwara on 10 December. People from all walks of life—residents, students, teachers, and social activists—are participating in the protest against the potential handover of BBMB DAV School from DAV to another organisation.“This school has been run since 1985 by the BBMB and managed by DAV. But now BBMB wants to hand it over to another organisation and plans to operate it on a self-financing model. Such an action will lead to an increase in fees, making it unaffordable for common people,” said a student who has been participating in the protest. “In our school, a student needs to pay the admission fee only once at the time of admission, while in nearby schools, students need to pay admission fees every year,” the student further added.The protesters claim that the BBMB has performed well under DAV’s management, and its students have gone on to study at AIIMS, IITs, IIMs, and several other top educational institutions, and have served in security forces.The BBMB itself has acknowledged the BBMB DAV School’s contribution to raising educational standards in Talwara. In its invitation for EOIs, BBMB declared, “A senior secondary school has been operated by DAV management since 1985 at BBMB Township in Talwara. The school has contributed to raising the literacy standards of the project area and is regarded as a centre of quality education in a relatively remote project location. With the changing scenario and needs, BBMB intends to hand over the running of the Senior Secondary School at Talwara (Punjab) to a reputed educational organisation on a self-financing basis.”On 20 December, the Joint Action Committee of BBMB DAV School took out a march from the school to the residence of Rakesh Gupta, Chief Engineer of Beas Dam, BBMB. Gupta was met with anti-BBMB slogans, and leaders of the movement were labelled "anti-social" elements.Rohit Dadwal, convener of the Joint Action Committee to Save BBMB DAV School, said:“We have a special connection with DAV school, as I studied there the day it opened in 1985. Later, my sister and then my kids studied here. Even now, my daughter studies here. BBMB school is managed well by DAV, and we want it to remain that way.”“BBMB claims that the school is causing them a Rs 2 crore deficit every year. Even if it is causing a deficit, the BBMB can cover the deficit, as it also makes huge money from power generation,” Dadwal added. Many locals raised anti-RSS slogans during the protest. While anti-RSS slogans are fairly common in protests in other parts of Punjab, it came as a surprise to hear them in Talwara, where nearly 90 percent of the people are Hindus. As mentioned earlier, the protest turned against the RSS mainly because of the presence of the Sanatana Dharma Sarvhitkari Vidya Mandir school right next to the DAV school.As per its website, the school was established in 1985 under “the patronage of Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha Talwara and aegis of Sarvhitkari Educational Society Punjab (Regd.), a state unit of Vidya Bharati, an all India educational organisation.” Vidya Bharati is the education wing of the RSS and runs thousands of Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools across the country. Former Principal of Sanatana Dharma School, Deshraj Sharma, is now General Secretary of Vidya Bharati, and his appointment and rising clout increased fears of a takeover of the DAV School in Talwara.Sunny Mehta, who is among the leaders of the protest, alleges, "The Pong Dam and Talwara town were built after uprooting people from Punjab. Now, the BBMB is shirking its responsibility of providing quality education and plans to hand over the school to an RSS-linked organisation. The school next to DAV school is linked to an RSS organisation and fulfils nearly all the criteria needed to run the BBMB school".Mehta was formerly with the Youth Congress and was an active part of the recent protest in Panjab University as well.The protesters say that the point isn't whether Vidya Bharati or any other organisation fulfils the criteria to run the DAV school, the main issue is why privatise it in the first place against the will of the locals?BBMB DAV School teachers and parents of students have filed two separate petitions in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, but they have not succeeded in getting the invitation for EOIs withdrawn. However, status quo has been ordered till 13 February.Meanwhile, the BBMB has demanded that the protest taking place on their "land" be evicted, and it has accused the local administration of not doing enough to act against the protesters. "The role of the local police and administration has not been satisfactory. The protest is taking place illegally on BBMB's land. We have asked the administration to take action but they haven't done that. This has only emboldened the protesters," BBMB chief engineer Rakesh Gupta told the media.

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Punjab: How a School Protest Turned Against RSS in This Hindu Majority Town

A proposal to privatise the BBMB DAV School has sparked outrage across Talwara, with some calling it an RSS ploy.

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