The School is no more

"Whatz up?" I pinged Sameer on finding him online last night. That's how you usually start a chat with an old pal and the usual reply is "just chal raha hai... wht abt u?" But yesterday his reply was as unconventional and shocking as it could be:
"Our school is no more"
The school is no more? Sameer sounded as if the school is an octagenerian with all kinds of ailments that it has succumbed to. Agreed, the school is an old one serving students for quite a long time now -but how can an institution be no more?
"What???"
"Public School has been vandalized by mobs. Jeypore under curfew" came the reply.

Now I got it all.
Yes, Jeypore a small town in Koraput district of Orissa has been seeing communal clashes for the last few days. I know that much from the newspapers. It all started with the murder of some extremist Hindu leader in Kandhmal. A riot ensued in which anything and everything associated with christian missionaries -orphanages, churches, converted humans -were burnt down. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, an intellectual whose secular credentials are beyond doubt, tried his best to stop it. But I presume his efforts couldn't have materialized. This is because of the very nature of tribal regions of Orissa. First, there are many hamlets (small clusters of houses) spread over the whole jungle terrain, which it would be very tough to police at the same time. Secondly, the naxalite-wary police of this region are already under immense stress. Police strength is low and all efforts to increase police strengths lately have not yet materialized due to infrastructural problems in training new recruits. Third, riots are something new in these regions. Tribals groups of Orissa are known to be peace-loving people; the riots have taken the administration by shock.

Yes, the people of this region are peace-loving. The tribals have their own culture, their own Gods and their own tribal societies. For long, they have stayed at peace with their environment and their Gods. The polarization of these people today on communal lines -on the lines of two alien religions Hinduism and Christianity -and the ensuing violence is a matter of intrigue to any sociologist.

But more intriguing than that is that my school has been vandalized. Why? Long before, when there was no development in the Koraput region (it still is a textbook case of under-development in the country) a lady opened three schools in Koraput district to provide english education. Her son, Mr. Anoop Ambrose, is the principal of my school. Yes, he is a christian. But of what I remember, he was a man of immense vision and compassion. He was a thorough patriot; he used to personally attend the recital of national anthem everyday during assembly and organized grand activities on independence day and republic day. He instilled in us students, during the formative years of our life, values of humanity and respect for the values inscribed in the constitution of India. Further, the school was never a christian school. It was never supported by any missionary fund, nor was it a convent. Majority of the students and teachers were Hindus. I remember, in second grade SUPW class, I had designed a portrait of Lord Jagannath (a Hindu God) which the teacher liked immensely and put it on the wall of teachers' room. She was the only christian teacher of the school!

It pains...to know that the school is no more. That one school which provided excellence in education even in a remote, forested region; that shaped the formative days of my life; that served as a foundation for the many students who have now specialized in a variety of vocations -it is no more!

It pains to know that peace-loving tribals are now killing each other in the name of religion; in the name of religions that are both alien to the region. It pains more to know that these tribals are now converted into either Christianity or Hinduism (yes, the rhetoric of Hindu chauvinists that christians are converting tribals is only partially true -Hindu extremist groups are also converting them). The culture of tribal societies is intricately inter-woven with their religion. When they identify themselves as 'Hindu' or 'Christian', basically the basic strands of their culture-rich society is endangered. The present riots have accentuated the problem, creating extremist identity and hatred in the psyche of simple tribals.

But it pains more to know that people are so dumb. Ok so you fight in the name of religion: you burn orphanages run by missionaries, you demolish Churches, you kill women and children in the name of religion. But what logic is there in burning down a school?

Koraput of the famed (for the wrong reasons) KBK area has many problems to deal with already: naxalism, starvation deaths, unemployment, tribal alienation, displacement by industries etc. To this list a new problem has been added now: hatred. Love, the one trait of the region that defines the spirit of Koraput and helps it keep going, is no more. The school is no more.

For pics of the ghastly act, see:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/anishaambrose/AdministrativeBlockJeyporePublicSchool02?authkey=ziPR6amwCL8#