Tribal outreach has long been a contentious topic. More often than not, tribals have come out in protest asking for their rights as was witnessed even in the farmers’ protests in Mumbai recently.
This video of tribal students in a hostel being instructed to make rotis, is yet another example of how much (or little) outreach has really done or if it is even implemented efficiently. After the video went viral, the additional district magistrate conducted a probe and the warden of the hostel was removed soon after. The students also complained about the lack of access to clean drinking water and poor sanitation.
However, this episode is reminiscent of another incident which occurred in January this year, where tribal students had to drink water from a drainage canal because the school had no drinking water facilities. They were also given salt and chapatis as their mid-day meals. The students said they preferred to study under a tree over their partially constructed school building.
Is tribal outreach still an afterthought?
