Tehelka in its new issue has come up with a report which refers Sangh, as owning one of the fastest growing education projects, that too in the Maoist affected regions.
The report also claims that, Sewa activities of Sangh Parivar has ousted the Christian missionaries decades old dominance in the field of education. The report also credits Sangh for reaching out to adivasis in Odisha, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Northeastern states.
It adores the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation as the most successful of all projects that runs 34,343 schools which, collectively, have 9,62,485 students. The report says, “A quick search on the Internet reveals the presence of the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation in places like Portland (Michigan) and Baltimore in the United States”.
The report puts the the VHP’s Sewa Trust of having 3,266 educational projects spread across the country. Out of this, nearly 1,050 Bal Sanskar Kendras reach out to children in the age group of three to seven. About 146 balwaries and 593 primary schools.
The report also quotes the statement of VHP spokesperson prakash Sharma, that “We do not mind even Muslim or Christian students learning in our institutions. However, they have to accept that they are by birth Hindus too,” he says. “As far as the idea of re-conversion is concerned, our epics are evidence to the fact that adivasis too are Hindus” .
The report expresses its surprise on the fact that, most of these service activities have reached deep into the regions that have well-rooted ideological opponents (Maoists) of RSS.
The report backs this claim by showing the following facts,
Chattisgarh has 2,490 ekal vidyalayas, while Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the Northeast have 1,590, 2,160, 1,534 and 2,681 such schools. With the exception of West Bengal, they all have sizeable presence of Maoists and other insurgent groups.
Source : http://www.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=Ws200411HINDUTVA.asp
