A school closure that must be called out

‘The order to close down the only Gondi-medium school in Maharashtra raises important questions’
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The order to close down the only Gondi-medium school in a village of Maharashtra raises important questions. The school was started in Mohgaon village in the Fifth Schedule area of the Gadchiroli district, in 2019, as a result of a resolution by the gram panchayat, for tribal students to achieve better learning outcomes by imparting primary education in their mother tongue. This initiative was in consonance with Article 29 of the Constitution, which provides minorities the right to preserve distinct languages, scripts and cultures, and Article 350(a) which mandates that the state should make adequate provisions so that children of minority groups may receive instruction in their mother tongue.

However, the local administration has argued that as the school is not registered under the Right to Education Act, 2009, its standards cannot be monitored. Non-recognition would also jeopardise the future of students when they transition to higher classes. However, an education officer has said that in case of closure, the students will be ‘absorbed’ in other schools.

Subordination by bias

While the objection of the administration is couched in bureaucratic language, it must be emphasised that the question of recognition is fundamentally a question of power, and only derivatively that of procedure. Non-recognition of the school is linked to the structural and socio-political subordination of the Adivasi communities owing to the normative bias of the state against their language and culture. Therefore, spotlighting the moral and political context of this ‘bureaucratic’ refusal by the local administration becomes important.

Jawaharlal Nehru was of the firm view that the Adivasi communities must grow according to their own genius. His view was informed by the historical experience of the past two centuries which saw many tribal communities being driven to the verge of extinction as a result of the vicious violence unleashed by the colonial state across the world.

Therefore, the Constitution has provisions to preserve and protect the tribal way of life — rights over land, language, culture and customs. These provisions are intended to enable tribal communities to participate in the process of nation-building while guarding against the loss of their identity.

Forces of absorption

However, the forces of absorption, which operate in the secular and religious realms, have had an immensely deleterious impact on the tribal communities since Independence. In the secular realm, absorption is carried out by the state and the market, while in the religious realm, absorption is carried out through the denigration, distortion and erasure of tribal religious beliefs. Both these forces of absorption complement each other.

This particular case, of the school’s possible closure, is one of absorption through the state which is operationalised through the non-recognition of the elements of tribal culture. This is reflected most clearly in the current status of Adivasi languages in the Constitution. Out of the 22 languages included in the Eighth Schedule, major tribal languages such as Gondi and Bhili are absent.

Gondi, which according to the 2011 Census, is spoken by more than 29 lakh people primarily across six States, is not included within the Eighth Schedule. Therefore, the state has no obligation to promote it at the national level.

On the contrary, Sanskrit, which is considered the Devbhasha or the language of the gods, is spoken by less than 25,000 people across the country, is listed in the Eighth Schedule. The contrast between Sanskrit and Gondi is necessary in this context because both are minority languages. Both are unlikely to be amplified by the market nor can they be considered necessary in getting employment. However, both these minority languages have contrasting fates due to the socio-political power wielded by the community which seeks to promote them — one is recognised by the state while the other is neglected.

Specificity of Adivasi languages

The need to confer state recognition becomes all the more important in the case of Adivasi communities because their culture has an oral tradition which includes their originary myths, religious beliefs and tales of the past. In the present context, given the rapid erosion of the Adivasi identity due to the clearing of forests, increasing urbanisation and rampant marketisation of society, the primary site of the construction of the Adivasi identity (historical memory which is transmitted orally) may face danger. The extinction of an Adivasi language might cause irreparable loss to that identity. Therefore, Adivasi languages must be accorded special status to ensure their protection.

It is ironic that those who claim to follow the Constitution, which derives its legitimacy from ‘we, the people’, recognise and promote the Devbhasha but neglect the Janbhasha (language of the people) of the Adivasi people. This gross moral failure must be addressed. It can be remedied, with the first step being the recognition of the Gondi-speaking school in focus and then expanding such schools. This would be in line with the spirit of the Constitution as well.

Anshul Trivedi is a member of the Indian National Congress